Moonlit Whispers and Confessions
by Blackbearcub12
Summary: "Hey Tsume, you know how we've known each other since we were little? We had our own lives mapped out before us until that accident.What lies ahead of us? When we find Paradise what will we do? What I'm trying to say, is that despite the times you at like a dick, I love you. I will forever even if we die" She whispered in the moonlight. "Temp HIATUS (sorry everybody!)
1. In The Beginning

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain or any of its characters. I only own my OC's both minor and major.**

EDIT: _**Changed the title and the summary.**_

_**Warnings for this story: Sexual references, some coarse language, frequent swearing, violence and gore and romance later on. Hopefully. **_

_**I will edit the actual story later, once I finish it. If you could point out some errors it would be much appreciated. **_

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Chapter 1- In the beginning

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Another raid was happening on one of the noble's trains. A jeep drove alongside it, filled with a group of men and one young woman. The leader Tsume, a man of 20 wore black leather pants and jacket with a grey top underneath and a scar on his chest. His jacket had huge rips on the sides of his shoulders, exposing tanned, muscled skin. He had grey hair with a small ponytail at the front. He was a formidable figure and most of the group were scared shitless of Tsume.

Except for the young woman, who was called Bri. Bri was 19 and had lightly tanned skin, long brown curls that ended at her waist and large olive eyes. She was the shortest of the group, reaching just below Tsume's shoulder. She wore jean shorts that showed off her legs, a light blue shirt and a black jacket over it. She had known Tsume since they were in diapers and wasn't afraid to talk back to Tsume.

The jeep inched closer towards the train and most of the men started scrabbling out, breaking the locks and stealing the supplies. A couple of men fell from the train mid-jump and others were killed by soldiers or the robots that hid with the supplies. Bri looked towards Tsume and at his nod, jumped gracefully onto the side of the train and opened a lock with the help of the youngest member of the gang, Gehl. He slipped and would have fallen into the snow but Bri grabbed his shirt and hauled him back up. "Be more careful Gehl" She said with a small smile.

"Bri! Stop flirting and get more supplies!" Tsume yelled at her from the carriage in front. Bri laughed but obeyed him anyway, giving one last smile to Gehl. She helped the others haul out more supplies and dodged the soldiers and gave them a parting scar with her knife.

"Everybody! We're moving out! Back into the jeeps!" Tsume yelled at them and one by one they leapt back into the backs of the jeeps, supplies carefully tucked away. The whole group cheered, minus Tsume. Bri joined in the celebration and had a wide grin on her face as she sat next to Tsume.

"It went well" She said, her full lips still spread in the wide smile. "Lost a couple of guys but it were still a success"

Tsume simply grunted and leaned back, his legs splayed in front of him. Bri drew her knees to her chest and combed one hair through her curls.

"When's the next raid?" She asked but the only reply she got was a grunt. She placed her head on her knees and looked out at the distance.

"Are you gonna give me a real answer anytime soon?"

Grunt.

"You're a jerk"

Grunt.

"Do you love me?"

Silence.

Bri turned to look at Tsume and was greeted with the sight of widened eyes and a shocked expression before he masked it away into a mask of indifference.

"What do you mean?" He asked, his eyes giving away his emotions. Shock and interest. Bri only shrugged and said, "I wanted to get an answer from you that wasn't a grunt. Guess I succeeded"

Tsume let out an annoyed huff and slapped her on the back of her head. She mewled with pain and looked at him with an angry expression. "What was that for?"

"Don't ask idiotic questions. If I didn't like you, you wouldn't be here." He said simply and Bri smiled softly, glad that Tsume's cold behaviour hadn't stopped him from accepting her as a friend.

The next day the whole gang were gathered at the huge tree that provided shade in their hideout. Bri was with the men and smiled at the sight. Tsume slowly came towards the group and heard the whispers amongst the men about the dog that was in the hollow of the tree. He pushed his way through the crowd and looked at the dog.

"It's not a dog" He announced and demanded that one of the men pull it out. The man gulped but pulled it anyway and when he touched the animal, it cracked its eyes open and lunged at the man, biting his throat and killing him instantly. He jumped at another man and ripped his throat before standing in front of Gehl, who looked scared, witless. Tsume punched Gehl away and lured the wolf onto the platform and ran away, the beast charging after him.

Bri ran forward and shouted behind her back, "Nobody follows us or I'll rip your balls off". All of the men that attempted to follow stopped in their tracks. They didn't notice Gehl sneak past them with his wrench in hand.

When Bri reached the top of the stairs she was greeted with the sight of Tsume and the white wolf talking to one another. She smiled and got rid of her human skin, morphing into a chocolate brown wolf. She stood before the white wolf and next to Tsume who was in the form of a grey wolf.

"_That was quite a stunt_" Tsume said.

"_I was protecting myself_" the white wolf growled and Tsume narrowed his eyes.

"_Don't be so quick to kill_". The white wolf snapped back, "_What's wrong with killing_?"

"_I don't know what mountain you came down from but you're in the city now. There are rules_" The two males looked each other in the eyes, their stances wary and defensive.

"_Rules? Is running around the city with a pack of idiots a rule_?" The white wolf snarled and Bri felt a little insulted.

"Don't compare me to those humans and don't call me an idiot!"Bri exclaimed, annoyed but both males ignored her, continuing with their conversation.

"_I'm only using them._"

"_Your rules stink like this city. What's the point in living if it means throwing away your pride?!" _ Whitey crouched lower, looking ready to spring at Tsume at any minute.

"_You got a big mouth for somebody half-dead_" Tsume growled out, anger shining in his jade eyes.

Whitely lunged at Tsume and the two snapped at each other and blood splattered onto the concrete.

"Stop it you two! Calm the hell down!" Bri shouted but it was to no avail. They kept ignoring her and continued snapping at each other's heels. Bri pricked her ears and the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Idiots!" Bri growled and put herself in the middle of the fight, blocking Tsume from the white wolf. Both wolves snapped at her and she snapped back. The white wolf tried to bite her ears and throat but she was quicker, placing her jaws around his throat.

"NOW WILL YOU BOTH BEHAVE?" She screamed at them, which came out a bit muffled since her mouth was fur but she felt the white wolf nod his head. She looked out of the corner of her eyes and saw Tsume, not moving.

Taking that as a yes, she released Whitey's throat from her jaws and moved to Tsume's side, noticing the gash on his arm. As soon as she had moved to Tsume's side, the two started fighting again and the footsteps finally reached the top, revealing Gehl.

Gehl gasped at the sight of two wolves fighting each other, but rubbed his eyes and saw Tsume fighting with the white wolf. Tsume kicked his foot into the gash Whitey had on his side and the wolf whined in pain but jumped onto Tsume's chest, growling. Gehl started running towards Whitey, brandishing his wrench. Bri tried to stop him but he simply shoved her to the ground and waved the weapon at Whitey, causing him to jump off Tsume's chest and stared at Tsume before limping off.

Gehl fell to Tsume's side. "Are you okay Tsume?" He asked worriedly but Tsume pushed himself away from Gehl. "Don't touch me! I'm fine!" He yelled and walked away.

Bri put a reassuring hand on Gehl's shoulder. "Don't worry, he acts like a dick when he gets hurt. It's his way of coping. I'll try and get him to calm down" She gave him a soft smile and walked down the stairs, hands in her pockets.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she asked the men where Tsume went. They just shrugged and she huffed in annoyance. She climbed down the stairs from the tree and walked before reaching an abandoned building and she could smell Tsume's scent.

She and Tsume used this building as a house of sorts. She looked around for any humans before she jumped into the third story window and spotted Tsume leaning against the wall, eating some meat by tearing it with his teeth. Bri sat stiffly on the window sill, looking at the dried blood on his arm and forehead.

"You're such an idiot. I hope you realise that! Driving away the only wolf we've seen for years! And getting injured and then sulking around and snapping at Gehl like that! She yelled at him, her olive eyes flashing dangerously in the moonlight. Then she relaxed and her eyes and voice softened, "Do you know how worried I was at seeing your blood on the concrete?"

Tsume looked at her at her last words and his eyes also softened but somehow also remained hard. "I'm not sorry, the wolf and the kid needed to learn a lesson, plus my wounds are nothing but a scratch. But I am sorry for making you worried"

Bri only nodded and brought herself to Tsume, sitting in front of him. She placed her small hands on Tsume's forearm, examining the wound.

"It's stopped bleeding but it's still pretty deep. I'll have to bandage it" She sighed softly before grabbing a piece of cloth, ripping it in half and wrapping it around his wound. He looked at her, his eyes questioning.

"I had a feeling you would get hurt" She smiled and with the cut on his forehead, she wiped it with the other half of the cloth, getting rid of the dried blood.

"There, now you're all clean" She laughed softly and looked at Tsume. He smiled back before morphing it into a smirk.

"Come here" He whispered and grabbed Bri, moving her onto his lap. She leaned against him and closed her eyes, feeling incredibly tired from before. She fell asleep on Tsume's lap, listening to his heart thumping in his chest and thinking how great it was that he was with her now.

She woke up later with the sun shining through the cracked windows, the torn curtains fluttering from the cool breeze that floated into the room. She was on a dusty four poster bed, a thick tan coloured blanket covering her.

She opened her eyes lazily and noticed that she was alone in the bed. Her chest panged with disappointment but she brushed it away and jumped out of the bed. She stretched some of her bones cracking and she brushed her curls away from her face.

She walked out of the bedroom and into the main room where she had fallen asleep on Tsume. She didn't feel embarrassed since she had often fallen asleep on Tsume when they had travelled together but she felt annoyed that he left before she woke up. The sun was in the middle of the sky and Bri was amazed that she had slept for so long.

She slipped her brown heeled boots on and jumped out of the window onto the roof of a smaller building. She jumped from roof to roof until she reached the big tree. She jumped from the top of the tree and silently climbed her way down until she was on one of the lower branches and lay on her back. She watched the gang discussing plans and gossiping, talking to each other about the big science laboratory doing crazy experiments and about that wolf from yesterday.

They all shut up when Tsume come to stand in front of them and told them tersely that there was going to be anther raid in tonight. He told Gehl to toughen up and turned his back but before he walking away he stopped. "Bri! Get down here, I need you" And started walking away. All of the men started wolf-whistling and Bri couldn't help but feel a stab on annoyance. Stupid humans and their presumptions.

Bri giggled before yelling "Aye, aye Captain!" And with that she leapt from her branch and landed next to one of the gang members, a man no older than Tsume. He stared at her in awe and she winked at him, causing him to blush and the cat-calling and whistles to start up again.

She weaved through the men, half-laughing at their reactions and half wanting to kick them in the crotch. She ran after Tsume and caught up with him, jumping down the buildings to reach the bottom.

They walked amongst the humans and tried not to grimace at the stink that was more concentrated on the ground. "What is it Tsume?" She asked, trying to keep up with his long strides. She hated being so small.

"Can you smell that?" He asked her, ignoring her question. Bri looked affronted but lifted her nose, trying to block out the stink.

"Do you mean the stink?" She asked but he shook his head.

"No, that flowery scent. Sniff deeper" He commanded and she did as she was told.

She sniffed deeper and finally caught the scent he was talking about. It was a faint flowery scent that smelt heavenly. She found herself sighing deeply, feeling utterly relaxed.

"What is it?" She asked him, placing her hand on his forearm in an attempt to slow him down and stop herself from falling to the ground from that flowery smell.

"I haven't the faintest clue! It's been bugging me all morning! But it comes from the direction of that lab. Must be one of their crazy concoctions" He snapped before softening his tone, his voice lost and confused.

"Maybe the rumours are true? You know the one, where they apparently made a girl from flowers?" Bri asked and flipped off some guys that were whistling at her as she walked past. Tsume snapped his head at them and stared them down before turning back to her.

"Don't be ridiculous, they can't make a girl from flowers" He said before stopping and sighing. "We should probably be getting back; we need to make up a plan for tonight"

She nodded and they walked back to the tree, greeted with the sight of the gang members lounging about, some were drowsing and others fiddling with their weapons or reading magazines.

Tsume sat down with them, explaining the plan for tonight's raid and snapping at the humans that weren't listening, saying that if they screwed up he would personally slaughter them. Bri fiddled with her curls, half listening to what Tsume was saying and half thinking of the past, when she and Tsume where younger and happier.

"It's too late for that now" She sighed to herself and nearly jumped out of her skin when a voice from behind her spoke.

"What's too late?"

She turned around and saw the man from before, the one that blushed when she winked at him. She simply shook her head and turned around, drinking in the dying sunlight and its warmth.

"Are you ready for tonight?" He asked and she turned back around to him, wondering why he hadn't left yet. She shrugged and answered, "Well I have to be ready don't I? If I'm not, I'll probably die"

The man agreed with her on that and she had to admit, this guy was pretty attractive. Wavy black hair, blue eyes and a nice smile. She felt herself smiling back and they started talking about the simplest things.

"Hey boss, look! Second in-command and Bruce look to be getting pretty friendsy!" One of the men yelled at Tsume and he burst out laughing with some of the others. Tsume turned around and found his eyes narrowing at the sight of Bri and the human talking and laughing together.

"OI! YOU TWO BETTER GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE AND KNOW THE PLAN OR I'LL MURDER YOU IF YOU STUFF UP!" He shouted at them and the human immediately snapped his head towards Tsume and started walking towards his friends, who were elbowing him and asking what happened. Bri simply glared at Tsume.

"Really? You big jerk! IF I STUFF UP I'LL LET YOU KILL ME THEN!" She screamed and jumped off the platform, her curls blowing violently in the breeze.

"YOU BETTER SHOW UP IN TIME!" Tsume yelled.

"I BLOODY WILL OKAY?"

Bri jumped down onto the nearest roof and started pacing, her blood boiling.

"That big dickhead, I was just talking to someone and then he gets all batshit crazy! Idiot! I can't believe the nerve of that guy!" She rated to herself, her strides angry and erratic.

"Are you gonna keep ranting?" A voice called from the shadows and she stopped her heart racing.

"Who's there?" She called and braced herself in a defensive position.

"Me" And out from the shadows stepped a teenage guy in a yellow hoodie. He had light brown hair and amber eyes and looked a bit chubby.

"Who's me?" Bri asked, her eyes wary. This guy was a wolf but she wasn't exactly sure if he was friendly or not.

"Hige. What's your name babe?"

"Don't call me babe. Its Bri"

She relaxed her stance slightly and she noticed that the wolf smiled at her.

"What got you so worked up anyway? That was some pretty nasty ranting just then." He asked, stuffing his hands the pocket of his hoodie.

"Some idiot guy that thinks he can boss me around. I can talk to whoever the hell I bloody damn well want!" She exclaimed.

"So why don't you tell him that?" He asked but a breeze suddenly wafted past them, ruffling their hair and the teenager lifted his nose, sniffing.

"Well I hate to leave a pretty girl like you alone out here but there's something exciting happening at the lab. Unless you wanna come with me?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows at her.

She scoffed and replied, "No thanks, don't wanna listen to your horrible flirting any longer. But it was nice to meet another wolf in this godforsaken city"

"Ditto. See ya gorgeous!" He yelled over his shoulder and jumped in the direction of the laboratory.

Bri laughed at his words and lifted her head to the sky. It was now fully dark and she had to make it back for the raid. She sighed and started back for the gang's hideout, landing next to Tsume.

"About time you got here shorty. What took you so damn long?" He barked at her, staring at her with hard eyes.

"I was talking with another one of us" She told him in a hushed tone before turning away from him.

He frowned at her but lead the gang towards the place of the raid.

An hour later, the night was filled with the sounds of gunshots and sirens. The gang carried boxes in their hands, running along the thin pipes. Bri ran in front of Tsume and hadn't spoken to him since replying where she was. He simply brushed it off as it being her time of month and ran with two boxes under his arms. He dodged past the bullets that whizzed past him and kept sprinting.

Suddenly, a shout was heard and the sound of metal ripping of the pipes. "Tsume!" Gehl shouted in a scared tone, hanging in mid-air holding onto the thin strip of metal for dear life.

Tsume turned back and dropped one of the boxes over the edge and grabbed onto the boy's skinny arm. The boy felt pain on his arm and saw that instead of Tsume's hand holding his arm, it was a wolf's head. Scared and shocked, he screamed and let go, falling down. Tsume looked down at him shocked and could only stare at him as he fell towards the ground.

"TSUME!" Bri screamed and he snapped out of his reverie and kept running, narrowly missing getting a bullet in the leg.

When they made it back to the hideout, Tsume dumped the boxes with the others and walked off, his gait stiff and somehow self-loathing. Bri looked at his retreating back with tears in her eyes. She had seen this walk once before, when they were driven away from the pack.

He was hurting and he needed her. She followed him, her heels slapping the concrete along with her tears that rolled down her cheeks.

He was in the house again, sitting on the window sill. She jumped in and sat opposite him, staring at him with tears in her eyes.

"Tsume…it wasn't your fault. The boy panicked and let go. You couldn't do anything" She said gently, grabbing his hand and entwining her fingers in the spaces of his hand. He tried to pull his hand out of her hand but she held firm and he eventually stopped.

"It is my fault. I should have held onto him tighter" He whispered, his voice full of sorrow. Bri scooted closer to him and touched his cheek with one hand. He flinched from her hand but didn't make a move to pull her hand away.

"It is not your fault. Do you hear me? So stop blaming and loathing yourself. It was meant to happen. That's how Fate works"

"So it was Fate when I was cast out? So it was Fate that all of our pack got slaughtered? It wasn't Fate. It was me. It was my entire fault" He whispered, his voice cracking mid-sentence.

"No it wasn't Tsume! Listen to me. Those things happened because they had to. If they didn't, we wouldn't be here now, alive and together. We wouldn't have met the other wolves either! It's nobody's fault. Don't say that. Please. I tried so hard to stop you from hating yourself" She whispered softly, more tears fell into her lap and she howled in misery.

"Shh, Bri. It's okay. Don't cry please" He told her, picking her up and placing her in his lap, making her place her head on his chest.

"Do you still blame yourself?" She asked him, voice cracking in pain

"No, thanks to you. You're brilliant you know that?" He told her, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"I did know that but it's nice to be told by somebody else" She smiled, tears still in her eyes but no longer falling down.

"Well you are. Now go to sleep, you look exhausted little one" He said tenderly, his voice reminiscent of his old voice when they were younger.

"I'm not so little anymore! You should sleep as well, you're brains are starting to turn into mush. You have to be the Big Bad Wolf tomorrow" She giggle, significantly happier than before but the misery still lingered in the atmosphere.

"I will" He said and he carried her towards the bedroom, gently placing her under the covers. He was about to walk away when she grabbed his wrist.

"Sleep here. Please. I'll be lonely without my best friend" She whispered, a small smile gracing her lips.

He hesitated before nodding slowly and went to the other side of the bed, clambered under the covers and lay there. Bri turned on her side and stared at his face.

"No more loathing okay?" She asked him and when he nodded she closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

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So, here I am with a new story! This little plot bunny wouldn't get out of my head and here it is! I plan on finishing this story, but I can't guarantee regular uploads since I'm busy with real life but I will finish this!

I hope you liked this and if you did leave me a little (or big!) review! :) No flames because I will not read them and they will be shipped off to the deepest pits of Hell! Constructive criticism is allowed and I'm sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes.

Btw _**bold italics**_ like that means flashback/memories

_Italics _mean quotes taken from the anime

Also sorry for any OC'ness, I'm trying to show how much Tsume cares for Bri and how much they've been through.

-Black :)


	2. The Runt and the search for Paradise

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain, I only own my OC's and more importantly I own Bri, She is my own creation and nobody can use her unless you have my permission.**

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Chapter 2 – The Runt and the search for Paradise

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When Bri woke up, she was greeted by the sight of a sleeping Tsume who snored softly. She giggled a bit at the expression on his face, glad he had managed to fallen asleep. She slowly and silently crept out of the bed and out of the room and sat at the window sill, staring out at the city.

It was full of tall and short concrete buildings, most abandoned with smashed windows, paint peeling and filled with rats and birds. Far off, there was a huge building known as the Lab. Here scientists worked for the nobles, experimenting and testing. Next to the Lab, there were buildings known to host supplies for the nobles and they were guarded by soldiers and the noble's robots.

Barely anybody lived in this city, known as Freeze City. Animals wandered the streets and the people that lived here were gaunt and pale, starving and dying. Bri hated how the nobles could live like royalty while they're people were hungry and cold, nothing but skin and bones.

She lifted her nose to the sky, sniffing for that flower scent. She caught it; it was stronger than yesterday and more intoxicating than ever. She felt her limbs turn to jelly and leant against the window, breathing it in greedily.

Never in her life had she smelt something as amazing as this. She shook her head to clear her drugged thoughts and focused back to the city. She remembered what that teenage wolf had said yesterday, about something exciting happening at the Lab. She wondered what it could have been.

"Maybe something happened to the Flower maiden? Maybe she actually exists?" She mumbled to herself, drawing her jacket closer to her body, feeling a sudden chill run down her spine.

"What are you mumbling about?" Tsume asked her from behind and she turned her head around to look at him. His hair looked a little rumpled and he yawned, exposing slightly longer canines.

"Was it difficult to sleep in all that leather? Looks like you were pretty uncomfortable" She laughed at his scowling face.

"Shut it shorty! Was it hard to sleep with those shorts riding up your thighs? Looks like it was" He snapped back, searching through the cupboards and finding only dust.

"Thanks for taking the time to observe my thighs" She told him.

"Anytime. I'll be back with some food." And with that, he jumped out of the window and jumped away from sight. She leaned back on the window sill and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep again.

Somebody was shaking her awake. She snapped her eyes open and was met with the sight of jade eyes staring into her own.

"What?" She asked, sitting up more alert.

"I brought food" He told her, holding out the jerky packet to her. She took a couple and started nibbling at one, wishing it was deer meat.

"What took you so long?" She asked him, rubbing her eyes with her free hand.

"I ran into a naïve runt, that wolf hunter with a demented dog we always see and I saw that white wolf getting arrested. Idiot" Tsume snapped, biting of chunks of jerky and swallowing.

"A runt? Seriously? I haven't seen a kid wolf in ages. Damn I wish I came" She sighed wistfully, memories of the pups that used to run and play fight with each other but that was long ago.

"Don't get sappy on me, he was an idiot. He wanted to stay with me. Stupid runt" Tsume growled, devouring his jerky in a matter of seconds.

"You should have let him! It would have been like old times…" She trailed off, realising how unrealistic she sounded. It could never be the same ever again. The scar on Tsume's chest proved that.

She let her eyes drop to the ground, feeling the tense atmosphere. "Sorry Tsume, I didn't mean it like that"

She looked back at him under long eyelashes to see him shrug. He looked so indifferent that it almost scared her that he was that controlled of his emotions.

She stared at the forgotten strips of jerky in her hand. She stuck in her mouth and chewed at it and almost dropped it when she heard a girlish scream and a wolf howl.

"What was that?" She asked Tsume, looking out the window for the source of the scream.

"That idiot, what did he do now?" Tsume growled and jumped out the window, towards the big tree.

Bri stood there, watching him dumbfounded before bounding after him, following him until they were in front of a girl who held a dead bird and a brown wolf with his head held upwards to the sky.

Tsume ran over to the wolf and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. His anger rolled off his body and Bri felt sorry for the kid that was going to receive the end of all that anger. Bri looked at the girl as she stared at her dead bird. She made a move to step towards her but she stepped on a twig and it snapped. She locked eyes with Bri and looked even more frightened. Bri gave her an apologetic look and raced in the direction of Tsume.

Bri followed his scent back to the house. She heard him yelling his head off at the pup and the pup saying something about Granny and how it was his fault she was dead. Bri felt her heart break at the sight of them, one irate the other one miserable.

She slowly clambered in through the window and stood in front of Tsume. She wrapped her arms around his midsection and held her face to his jacket.

"Tsume, calm down" She mumbled against him.

"What?" He snapped down at her, not pleased that she interrupted his rant.

"Calm down. You're making him feel worse" She told him and she let go of the angry male and went to the younger boy. He had wide brown eyes and auburn hair. He looked so young and broken. To Bri's dissatisfaction, the boy was slightly taller than her by a couple of inches.

She hugged the boy, much like she had to Tsume and whispered words of comfort to him. The pup looked surprised but grateful and hugged her back.

Tsume looked at the scene bewildered but couldn't help feel something tug at his chest. Bri looked so right, holding the pup in her arms comforting him. He frowned at his sappy thoughts and shook them away.

"Bri what the hell are you doing?" He asked her gruffly, crossing his arms over his chest looking like an overgrown child.

"What the hell does it look like I'm doing? I'm comforting the damn kid. God knows what you said to him you jerk" She sat on the ground, dragging the pup down with her and started fiddling with his hair. The pup rested his head on her shoulder, half asleep.

"This is too sappy for me. I'm gonna go check up on the gang" And with that, Tsume was outside, the wind blowing in his face and hundreds of thoughts and memories swirling in his head.

Bri kept stroking the pup's hair, slowly dragging him into a dreamless sleep. She sighed when he drifted off and looked at him. He was adorable and he reminded her so much of a younger Tsume for some bizarre reason. Maybe it was because they were both naïve and trusting in the beginning. She only hoped that the pup didn't turn out to be like Tsume when he grew older.

She rested her head on the pup's head and before she knew it, she was drifting off to sleep as well, memory after memory of her and Tsume when they were younger.

_**It was a hot, sunny afternoon and two wolf pups frolicked amongst the grass and flowers. They yipped and bit and whined at each other before laughing and howling. One was a grey male wolf that was bigger than the other, a chocolate female. They rolled over onto their sides and morphed back into human form. The girl had short brown curls up to her shoulders and wore a white summer dress with sandals. The boy had short silver hair that was slightly longer than a buzz cut and wore black pants with a grey top. **_

_**They looked at the clouds and pointed out different shapes that the clouds made, laughing at each other's ideas. They were so young and innocent.**_

A new memory replaced the first.

_**The same wolves from before were slightly older now. The girl was 11, the boy 12. They looked a bit different, the girl wearing shorts and a tank with her curls reaching her shoulder blades, the boy's hair had grown longer and he wore a leather jacket over his grey top.**_

_**Even though they had grown older, they still frolicked like pups, biting and leaping at each other. As they played, they didn't notice the four wolves that stepped through the clearing. The alpha of the pack was a formidable looking wolf, a stormy grey with scars on his body and his honey coloured wolf wife stood next to him. On the right side of the alpha, stood the beta male and his wife. The Beta was a light brown wolf with an alert stance. His wife was a reddish-brown wolf, whose fur slightly shone in the gleam of the sun.**_

_**They stood watching the children play and laugh, each watching their respective child. The alpha gazed at his young male heir and knew that when he grew older he would make a fine alpha. His wife mirrored his thoughts, thinking about how fast her pup was growing.**_

_**The Beta watched his young daughter and felt an urge to haul her to his side and lock her away, for she was pretty and he had noticed how the young males of the pack had stared at her. They still did it, even if he chased them away and the alpha's pup snarled at them. His wife watched the children playing with a smile on her muzzle, knowing that the two would make a fine couple together when they were older. Her daughter was pretty and would be prettier when she turned into a young woman and her selected mate was handsome with his jade coloured eyes.**_

_**The two pups finally noticed their parents and ran over to them, talking excitedly about what they had done. When they started bickering about who won their play fights, each couple shared a knowing look and ushered their pups back into their respective homes and placed them in bed, wondering how they had grown so old staring at the growing pups. **_

That memory had made Bri smile wistfully in her sleep. She missed her pack, her family and her extended family. She was about to open her eyes when a third memory smacked into her mind.

_**Their homes were burning; the strange machines the humans used were setting fire on their huts and burning some of the pack alive. The pack was breaking up, so many were either dead or dying and they had lost their homes, family members and supplies. Some howled in misery, others started attacking the robots and humans with rage.**_

_**The little wolf girl was 12 now and she was hopelessly lost. She dodged past the wolves, robots and humans, looking for any sign of her father or mother. She tried calling out their names but her voice was drowned in all of the howling, crying and shouting. She started running and bumped into someone, falling on her backside. She looked up and locked eyes with Tsume.**_

_**She jumped up and Tsume grabbed her hand, pulling her along with him and trying to keep the humans away. She tripped a couple of times but kept running, knowing that Tsume would keep her safe. **_

_**He dragged her to the clearing that they played in, the moon shining down at them. They both panted, tired from all the running. She looked towards Tsume, her eyes asking him what they would do now. **_

"_**We have to get away from here, Bri. It'll be safer that way" He told her and she felt herself conflicted. She wanted to go with him but what about their parents? She asked him so and she noticed the sad look in his eyes.**_

"_**I don't know where they are Bri. They must be gone" He told her and grabbed her hand, getting ready to start running away with her.**_

_**They had to run alongside their burning village in order to run away and when they managed to stand at the entrance of their village without a scratch on either of them, they felt relieved. They started moving again, away from the dying village and the humans.**_

_**They were halfway down the path that went from their village to a human village when four wolves stood in front of them. Their parents.**_

_**They stopped and Tsume looked relieved that they were alive but also a little bit scared. Bri was so happy to be able to see her parents again that she took a step forward to go to them but Tsume held her back. She looked at him confused, wondering why he wouldn't let her see her parents.**_

"_**Tsume. How could you run away from the pack when they needed your help? Have you forgotten all I have taught you? When the pack is in danger you stay and fight, not turn tail"**_

_**Tsume lowered his head a bit in shame but still kept his stance defiant. **_

_**Bri felt confused. Didn't their parents always tell them that if humans were around and they were outnumbered that they should run and hide?**_

"_**Tsume, you can't stay with the pack any longer. You're a coward now, not my son" The alpha growled at the boy, his heart beating painfully and saying those hurtful words. Tsume's mother started weeping and would have run over to Tsume to hug him but her husband held her back.  
**_

"_**Bri, you can either stay here and live with your parents or go and live with Tsume, living your life as a coward and never being able to see your mother or me ever again. What do you choose?" Her father spoke now, in the voice he reserved for people that he hated. **_

_**Bri just stared at her father. She would have wanted to stay here with her mother and father but it wouldn't be the same without Tsume. Who would play with her and fight with her and look after her?**_

_**Instead of answering, she inched closer to Tsume and her father took that as her staying with Tsume. He bowed his head and comforted Bri's crying mother.**_

_**The alpha shared a look with the beta and the beta nodded and took his wife gently by the arm and beckoned the alpha's wife to follow. Both women looked back at their children, feeling miserable that their children would soon be cast off into the harsh world. **_

_**Tsume noticed the beta dragging his wife and the alpha's wife away and he turned to Bri. He bent down and whispered in her ear, "Bri, go further down the path and keep running. Whatever you hear, don't turn around. Keep running, I'll be there with you soon" And with that he nudged her in the direction of the path and when she started running away he turned back to his alpha.**_

_**Bri kept running down the path, heeding Tsume's words and not turning around. Even when she heard yelps and snarls, even when she smelt blood she kept running. She slowly slowed down into a jog to rest her heart and felt tears run down her cheeks. She would never see her family ever again. She wouldn't be able to listen to her father tell her tales of Paradise or her mother singing songs to her that made her laugh or cry.**_

_**She stopped fully and fell to the ground, her sobs wracking through her body. She felt somebody pick her up gently and carry her, shushing her and comforting her. She knew it was Tsume and could see and smell the blood on his chest. She wanted to touch it, to wipe the blood of it but his arms wrapped her tightly around his chest and she couldn't move her arms. Instead, she leaned forward slightly and started lapping at the wound; cleaning it of blood and helping it close over faster. **_

_**When she was done he murmured thanks to her and told her that she should sleep now. She started protesting about him needing sleep as well but he ignored her and started humming a tune. She slowly found her eyelids drooping and struggled to keep them awake. **_

_**She eventually let her eyes close and drifted off to sleep.**_

Bri snapped her eyes open. She hadn't thought about that memory in ages. She stretched and yawned, looking around the room for the two males.

She was the only one here; she could see it and smell it. They had left her. She growled in annoyance at being left by herself again before a familiar smell wafted through the window. Blood. Not just anyone's blood either, it was Tsume's blood.

She leapt to her feet and jumped out the window, following the scent of Tsume's blood. She followed it to one of Tsume's many hideouts and felt more blood hit her nose. The smell of other wolves didn't help either.

She opened the door and was greeted with the sight of Tsume, the runt, that wolf from the night before and Whitey in human form. She ignored the looks of alarm on the other males and ran over to Tsume. He was sitting at the window sill, holding one hand to his bleeding arm. She could smell an unfamiliar scent but she was certain that he ran into the wolf hunter and his dog.

Immediately, I slapped him on the back of the head. "You idiot! Running off like that and then getting hurt! Be more careful will you!" She growled at him and slapped his hand away looking at the wound.

"Hey pup can you move that brick from behind you and chuck me what's inside. Never knew I would need it now…thanks to a certain old man that can't stay put!"

"I'm not an old man! You should watch your tongue shorty" Tsume snapped at me and I retaliated by slapping his head again.

"Don't snap at me jerk face. I'm the only healing you" She caught the small first aid kit that the pup threw to her and opened it, taking a small bottle of vodka out. "Stay still now Tsume or I'll pour this whole bottle into your wound"

She poured a couple of drops into the wound, pleased at the slightly pained look he gave her as it stung but not saying anything. She wrapped the bandage around his arm and started talking to the other wolves.

"So...what are you guys doing here? I didn't think I would see you in human form Whitey, why the sudden change?"

"My name's not Whitey, its Kiba. Plus someone told me that _having pride doesn't count much if I'm dead_" He told her, sharing a glance with Hige.

"Damn straight. Now Tsume, where did you run off to? And why do you smell like the wolf hunter and like one of the gang members?"

Tsume glared at Bri but answered anyway, "They sold us out, the gang's split up. I ran into the old man's dog and she gave me a parting gift as we fell into the boxes of potatoes"

"Dumbasses scared of their own shadows. That bitch seems very strange for a dog. Why are you guys here anyway with the pup?" She turned to face the other males and noticed that they seemed to be staring at her in slight confusion.

"Oh right! Sorry I'm Bri and this jerk's second in command" She said, jerking her thumb in Tsume's direction.

Tsume growled at her, "I'll bite that thumb off in a second if you keep irritating me"

She laughed at him, "I'd like to see you try"

Kiba interrupted their banter with the answer to her previous question. "We're here because we're leaving this city tonight. We're heading towards Paradise"

"Paradise? Is that really true? I was thought it was a fairy tale" She mumbled, thinking of her mother's stories about Paradise.

Paradise was said to have been only opened at the end of the world and only wolves could get in there. The story was passed down for generations until they passed it off as a fairy tale.

"Don't act like a puppy Bri, of course it doesn't exist" Tsume snapped at her and she bristled, annoyed at him.

"Tsume be quiet! I wanna hear this! If you don't wanna then you can scram!" She yelled at him before turning back to Kiba.

"I hate to interrupt you guys but a bad stink is coming this way" Hige interrupted Kiba, just as he opened his mouth.

"We're surrounded" Came Tsume's terse reply.

"_Let me ask you something, why did you guys come to this city? It was because of the flower scent wasn't it? Well it's gone now. There's no reason to stay" _Kiba said, his voice strong and almost wistful.

"_The flower has nothing to do with it. Me and Bri are here because we belong" _Tsume said, staring out the window at the human's surrounding us.

"_I can see that, this city is a dump" _Kiba replied.

Tsume bristled in anger. "_I still have a score to settle with you" _And with those words he took a step forward.

"_We don't have time of this!" _Hige exclaimed and I made a move to pull Tsume back.

"_Do you have the slightest idea what leaving the city would mean? You'll just die"_ Tsume said, his eyes narrowing at Kiba.

"Tsume calm down." Bri spluttered out but they continued to ignore her and the other two.

"_Possibly. Everyone's gonna die, it's a natural part of life. But if life has no purpose, you're dead already_" Kiba replied, not taking his eyes of Tsume's.

Suddenly a light bright filled the room from the ground and shots were being fired. They all sprinted of the room and onto the pipes that connected the building to other buildings.

They were running fast, dodging bullets that were aimed at them, leaving the bullets to hit the pipes. Suddenly the pup's foot slid of the side of the pipe and he fell, holding onto a thin strip of metal that ran along the sides of the pipe.

Tsume heard the pup yell and turned back, reaching down to the boy and pulling him up. The scene was reminiscent of the night's before, when Gehl was hanging from the pipe. Unlike Gehl, the pup didn't panic and let Tsume haul him up.

"_Go on hurry up!" _Tsume barked at the boy and he stared back.

"_You're really not coming with us_?" He asked sadly and Tsume hesitated, before giving one nod. Shots started firing and they ran to join the others. Tsume met up with Bri and stood with her as the others ran on.

"Tsume, do you reckon we should go to? If we stay here, we'll have to hide. If we go, we can run and eat and everything. Just like before" She told him, her voice sounding much like a child's.

Tsume looked down at her and was surprised at how young she looked. She looked older than when they first arrived but still managed to look innocent and young. He placed his hand on her head and ruffled her curls, laughing at her annoyed grunt.

"I don't know shorty. Do you wanna go?" He asked her, showing her the side that he only ever dare show her. It was his softer side, the side of him that didn't die when they got cast out.

"I wanna Tsume but if you don't wanna then I won't go. I don't want to leave you" She said and looked downwards, her eyelashes fluttering against her cheeks.

"Then we better start running huh?" He asked her and started sprinting off, leaving her behind. She stood dumbfounded before a huge grin came over her face and she ran after him.

They were greeted with the sight of the others standing, waiting for them. The pup yelled Tsume's name happily and Bri ran over to stand next to him.

"I never did tell you my name huh? It's Bri" she told him, ruffling his hair.

"Mine's Toboe" He said, smiling up at her.

Tsume and Kiba shared a long glance before Kiba turned away and shouted, "This way"

The others followed him and another set of bullets were fired at them. They ran towards the huge gate that closed off the city from view. Kiba jumped then Hige and Toboe was about to jump but stopped suddenly. Hige yelled at him to jump already.

"_Move it!" _Tsume snapped at the boy and kicked him off of the ledge.

"Tsume! Don't be so rude" Bri scolded him and Tsume lifted his foot threateningly at her. She laughed but jumped and landed next to the others.

A lone shot was fired from behind Tsume and Bri wondered who it was.

The wind howled around them and snow flew past them, making Bri shiver. She probably should have stolen some jeans before leaving.

"_Are you scared_?" Kiba asked Tsume, his voice normal and calm.

Tsume replied, his voice almost lost in the wind, "_Yeah you wish_" and with that, leapt down.

They morphed into wolves and started running, Kiba in front with Hige close behind him, Toboe behind them and Bri and Tsume at the back. The snow was cold on Bri's paws but she had never felt so alive. She had missed running around like a wolf.

Tsume stopped and looked back at the city. "_Screw this stinking journey. Paradise can kiss my ass. I'm just fed up with this stinking town and I'm here for shorty_" He mumbled to himself and turned back, joining up with Bri.

'It was time to leave anyway' he thought to himself and morphed back into a wolf, his earrings on his human ears starting to hurt from the cold.

They ran and ran for ages. They left the snow behind and travelled through the desert, sand sticking between their paws. Wind blew sand into their faces and the sun grew hot. They slowed down but kept moving until they found themselves in snow again. They were hiding out in a cave from the blizzard. It had been 3 days since they left Freeze City.

Hige and Toboe were complaining about food and Tsume told them to quit their whining. Kiba interjected, saying that he had travelled a full month without food by basking in the moonlight. Though Bri wouldn't deny that she was hunger she was more awed at the scene before her.

She never thought that she would travel with a bunch of wolves in her life. She thought that she would only travel with Tsume until they grew tired of each or until they moved on. She found herself growing attached to Toboe, the sweet and caring pup and Hige, the shameless flirter. She grew attached to Kiba as well, the strong and silent one of the group.

Bri realised that she wanted to stay in this pack with Tsume. She didn't want them to break up. She wanted to be here, forever.

She realised that she had zoned out and listened to the others again, a small smile playing at her lips.

"_Well if worse comes to worse, we can always eat each other. We could start with the runt, since he's gotten so weak and of course there's always little Porky over there_" Tsume said matter-of-factly.

"_What a second, how come Kiba_ and Bri _aren't on the menu_?" Toboe asked, annoyed at being called runt and the thought of being eaten first.

"_Because the guy's totally full of crap that's why_. And Bri we can't eat because I'm saving her for myself" Tsume said with a wolfish grin and Bri glared at him.

"Not if I eat you first" She teased but Tsume didn't hear her, he was too busy having a staring contest with Kiba.

Toboe tried to calm them down and Hige just looked uninterested but Bri was lost in her own little thoughts. She was thinking about her old pack and those days, the ones where she was carefree.

Suddenly, Hige started sniffing and a look of glee came on his face. He stood up and ran out of the cave. The others simply stared after him before running out the cave. Hige led them away from the snow, where it was grass and dirt and towards the dead body of a deer.

The others started digging into the deer, tearing strips of meat of its thin body and eating. Bri and Tsume stood next to each other. Bri's stomach rumbled and she shrugged, kneeling next to Kiba and eating the meat. It was tough and chewy, but it filled her stomach.

Tsume looked at them with mild disgust on his face and Toboe tried to urge him to take some, saying that they still had a long way to go.

"_Go? Go where exactly? To that Paradise place? Of the direction you smelt that flower_?" He asked, voice low.

"Tsume" Bri warned, chewing at the strips of meat.

Toboe asked Kiba what Paradise was really like but Hige answered instead. "_Its an amazing place. The flowers are always in bloom and there's food everywhere. Oh and there's beautiful babes all over the place_" Bri snorted but had to admit that it sounded nice, minus the babe part.

"_You mean it?"_ Toboe asked, his eyes widening.

Hige gave a nervous smile "_Of course there are, I hope so anyway_"

"_You don't know_" Toboe said, his face dropping.

"_Paradise is a totally unfounded fairy tale. And if it is, its probably some idiot's dream_" Tsume said from behind them.

"_So then why the hell did you come with us_?" Hige asked but Toboe interrupted Tsume, saying that they would never know unless they looked for it.

"_How far are you gonna let this guy string you along? How far are you gonna follow this guy in search of a place that doesn't even exist to begin with? That's it, I can't put up with you losers anymore_" He started walking away, his hands in his pockets.

"Tsume! Don't be like that!" Bri yelled after him but he simply waved his hand at her.

"_Where are you going, all by yourself_?" Hige asked

"_To look for Hell I guess_" Tsume replied.

"_Suit yourself then_" Kiba said quietly and Tsume turned to look at him. "_But remember, those set of rules you have don't apply out here_"

"_It really pisses me off when a smug kid like you has that know-it-all face and he's actually clueless_" Tsume snapped and Bri stood up.

"Tsume don't be irrational" She said, looking at Tsume as he locked eyes with Kiba. He looked at her with his piercing jade eyes then turned around, walking off.

Bri sighed and sank to the ground, lying down and looking at the sky. Toboe ran off after him and Hige looked at Bri.

"Aren't you gonna go follow your boyfriend?" He asked her.

"Not my boyfriend and I am not his mother. He can do whatever he pleases as long as he doesn't get killed." She replied and closed her eyes in frustration.

"Arrogant idiot. Just can't let anything go can you Tsume?" She mumbled to herself.

She stood up and wandered in the direction that Tsume and Toboe left.

"I thought you said you wouldn't go after him?" Hige called after her.

"I need to make sure he doesn't kill the pup. He's angry and when he's like that he acts like a dick" She shouted back and ran, following the scent of Tsume and Toboe.

* * *

So chapter 2 is here! Yay :)

Btw _**bold italics**_ like that means flashback/memories

_Italics _mean quotes taken from the anime

I edited the first chapter a bit, just adding the above comment and disclaimer.

Hope you enjoy this chapter and please review!

-Black :)


	3. New wolves, friend or foe?

_**Warning: Mild almost rape scene, language, violence. You have been warned.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain, only my OC Bri **_

* * *

_**Chapter 3- New wolves, friend or foe?**_

She still hadn't caught up to them. "How fast had they walked?" She huffed to herself, annoyed at Tsume's childish behaviour

"He never does change does he?" She smirked to herself and finally managed to pick up a scent. It was Toboe's. She decided to follow it, hoping that she would find Tsume with the pup. She trotted along in her wolf form, her nose sniffing the air. She suddenly found herself looking at the remains of a ruined city with thick wires sticking out from under the ground and from buildings.

She whined, feeling uneasy. It was too quiet for her liking. She jumped in fright as she heard a howl. Turning back into a human, she placed her hand over her thumping heart, running towards the howl. She skidded onto a ledge and found Toboe, standing on another ledge howling. She jumped over to him and placed her arms around his furry body.

"Toboe what happened?" She asked him softly, placing her head on top of his. He morphed back into a human.

"Tsume ran off and I lost him. I don't know where he is"

Bri growled low in her throat, "That dumbass! What's he thinking, leaving you alone.." She trailed off, seeing Toboe's indignant look. She nuzzled his head in apology.

"Well come on, Tsume's acting like a loner so we might as well go back" She stood up and started walking when she heard something whistle through the air. She turned around, shocked at seeing Tsume and blood on the concrete.

"C'mon! Move your asses!" He yelled at them and looked behind him. Bri followed his gaze and saw the robot coming out from its hiding spot. Her mouth fell open in surprise but she snapped it shut and followed the other two.

Tsume was limping heavily, a deep gash on his left thigh. Bri made a move to help him walk but he shooed her away. They moved towards a ledge, the robot in hot pursuit of them. Toboe and Tsume jumped down and Bri was about jump when she felt a stabbing pain in her right shoulder. She cried out in pain and stumbled off the ledge, failing in a heap and heard something crack.

"Great I have the best luck today!" She snarled in annoyance, dragging herself towards Tsume and Toboe.

Toboe helped her get behind the large metal pile that served as their shield, just in time to avoid getting hit by more bullets. Her shoulder throbbed like a bitch and her leg dragged behind her uselessly.

"We have to keep moving otherwise that robot thing is gonna find us again!" She screamed at them over the sounds of bullets being fired.

Suddenly, she was being lifted up by Tsume who carried her bridal style. She protested, saying that Tsume was too injured to carry her but he silenced her off with a glare. She tried to wriggle free from his grasp but his arms were two steel bars, holding her to his chest.

They started running out of the town, in the direction they came from. They ran and ran and finally made it out of the town. Unfortunately the robot kept following them. They made it to a bridge of sorts and started crossing it but the robot shot a missile at the other end, causing the bridge to shatter and plunging the three wolves into darkness.

Bri managed to wriggle out of Tsume's grasp and landed on the ground, biting her tongue to keep her from screaming as she landed on her broken leg. She fell to the ground and tried standing up. She looked around and saw Tsume out cold and Toboe starting to lick Tsume's leg wound. I tried to drag myself over there but I felt weak and I couldn't move my arms.

Tsume came around half an hour later and when he saw Toboe licking his wound he waved his hand into Toboe. "Stop that! Don't ever touch me" He growled and the pup looked slightly hurt at his words.

"Tsume don't act like a dick" Bri groaned out from the left of Toboe. Her head was starting to spin and her body felt like it was on fire.

Tsume glared at her and asked what the robot was doing. Toboe replied that it must've not be after them.

"_Woah, you're covered in scars. That one on your chest…man it's really cool_!" He exclaimed, a grin on his face. Tsume turned onto his side and the pup looked dejected. Toboe turned towards Bri and said, "_I wonder what happened to Kiba and Hige. They must be really worried about us by now_"

Bri nodded at the pup and leaned into him, feeling her mind grow hazy. They heard something clanking and sat up, gasping. Tsume made a move to get up but groaned, his gash bleeding heavily.

"_Don't be stupid Tsume! You'll get yourself killed. I'll go out and act as a decoy, distracting it so you_ and Bri _can get out_"

"_Don't do it_!" Tsume said and the pup turned back with a small smile. "_Don't worry you can trust me_" and started running out.

Tsume stood up picked up Bri gently. She tried protesting; saying that she was too heavy for him but Tsume silence her with a glare. The glare didn't stop her at all.

"Tsume! I'm fine! Let me walk!" She protested, struggling against him.

"No Bri you're not fine! You can't even stand up on your own!" He yelled at her, jade eyes flashing. He held her closer to him and limped out, ignoring Bri's fussing over him and her protests. The robot was shooting at Toboe, who was running in the opposite direction. Tsume started limping faster and the robot stopped firing, looking at Tsume and Bri.

"Shit" Tsume said, trying to limp faster. The robot started shooting bullets at them but they all missed and Tsume made it to a space between to rocks. The robot shot a missile in their direction and they were pushed forward by the force of the explosion.

Bri rolled out of Tsume's arms and sat up, trying to stand up and walk over to Tsume to help him get up. Her shoulder was bleeding more heavily, staining her top and jacket. As she made it to Tsume, the robot was standing before them, looking at them with his artificial eyes.

Bri protectively stood in front of Tsume and growled, crouching low and getting into a fighting stance. Tsume yelled at her to get back but she stood defiant, glaring at the robot. She was about to leap when a wolf's howl was heard and a flash of white leapt onto the robot.

Tsume lifted Bri up and chucked her to Hige on the ledge and he caught her and started leaping from ledge to ledge. They all made it to the top and started running but Bri looked back. Kiba wasn't with them yet.

"What about Kiba?" She asked worriedly to Hige.

He looked down at her and said, "Don't worry about him, he'll be fine. First we need to fix you and Tsume up."

They stopped after a while and Hige gently placed Bri on the dirt. "Toboe I need you to hold me down while Hige gets the bullet out of my shoulder" Toboe nodded and placed his hands on her shoulder firmly.

"This is gonna hurt" Hige warned her and Bri laughed before it turned into a hiss of pain. Hige pulled the bullet out of her wound and Bri ripped off some material from the bottom of her shirt. She wrapped it around her wound.

She ripped off another strip of cloth and gave it to Hige, who nodded and gave it to Tsume, who wrapped it around his wound. Bri started examining her leg and cried out with pain.

"Definitely broken, it's gonna take a while to heal. Thank god it's a full moon" She murmured to herself, letting the moonlight bathe her leg in its dying rays. By the time dawn came and Kiba returned her leg was half-healed.

Tsume's wound still made him limp but Toboe helped him walked. Tsume looked at the pup in surprise and Bri couldn't help but giggle. "Why did you save me? I didn't ask for your help. And don't say its because we're friends" He asked Kiba as he walked past him. "It was instinct" Kiba replied simply and helped Bri stand. She thanked him and started walking after the others with Hige.

"What are strange pack we are" She mumbled to Hige and he laughed and nodded. They morphed into their wolf forms and walked onto their next destination.

After two days of limping/running, Bri's leg was finally healed. She whooped in joy and sprinted ahead, glad she could finally use her leg. As they sat and rested Toboe was telling the rest of the group about his dream of Paradise. When he mentioned lunar flowers, Hige gave him a skeptical look.

"_Have you even seen a Lunar flower before_?"

Toboe looked downwards, " _Well no not really...but I dreamt that Granny was there and she took care of us and cooked for us, making all sorts of delicious foods_" he explained with a dreamy tone.

"_What are you talking about_?" Hige asked confused.

"I _guess he'll be happy being somebody's pet, even in Paradise_" Tsume replied.

Bri slapped Tsume's chest, the sound echoing around them. "Tsume really? Let the pup dream what he wants. He wants familiarity, like the rest of us. Don't go spoiling it for him"

"_How else am I supposed to know what Paradise looks like? Kiba hasn't told us anything. Can you at least tell me what colour lunar flowers are_?" Toboe whined and Kiba smiled at him before tilting his head upwards.

"We should keep moving" He said and stood up. The rest followed him, Kiba in the front with Tsume next to him, Hige and Bri behind them and Toboe at the very back.

They walked up the hill, their feet sinking in the snow and the wind hitting their faces. Toboe lagged behind and suddenly the others stopped, looking down. Toboe sped up, "_What is it?"_

"_It's the ocean_" Kiba answered him and they started walking down. They started walking across the water on the train tracks and a gull crying from above them. Kiba stopped "_It's faint, but it's definitely lunar flowers alright_"

Toboe gasped in delight. "This is it guys, Paradise is right up ahead" And he started running forwards, followed by Kiba and Hige. Bri looked at Tsume and laughed at his frown, running.

"C'mon Big Bad Wolf! We'll get left behind" She called to him and he growled in annoyance.

"I'll chuck you over the edge, shorty" He started running and caught up to her. They ran side by side along the train tracks and stopped when they joined the rest of the pack. In front of them was a huge building that belonged to a noble and the city surrounded it.

They entered the city and to Bri, it looked no better than Freeze City. This place was a dump and looked deserted.

"_You smelled flowers huh? Well all I smell is the stench of old rancid oil"_ Hige stated. Tsume started walking in front followed by the others.

They walked through the streets, noticing that people stared at them from behind curtains and from alleyways.

They kept walking and suddenly stopped, noticing a group of people sitting around a fire. "No way" Bri whispered. These people were wolves.

"_It's a woman_" Hige gasped and Bri looked at him affronted. "What am I, chopped meat?" Hige chuckled nervously.

A man in his late 40's stood up, a huge scar running down his cheek. "_Where are you boys_ and girl _from_?"

"_A city to the north_" Kiba replied.

"Why are you here?" Asked the man. Obviously the alpha for this group.

"Just passing through" Tsume said stiffly. "You don't expect us to do business here, in a dump like this?"

"Tsume!" Bri hissed at him.

One of the men looked Bri up and down, a lustful gleam in his eyes. Bri noticing this bared her teeth in retaliation.

"_Where are you going_?" The alpha asked, eyes only on Kiba.

Hige stuttered out a reply but Toboe cut him off. "_To Paradise_"

The alpha's eyes widened and started laughing quietly before growing louder, his pack joining in. Except for the woman who sat there silently.

"_Kiba why are they laughing_?" Toboe asked, confused.

"_Because they obviously don't know what Paradise is_" Kiba replied and the alpha stopped laughing.

"We know all about it"

Hige and Toboe gasped and Bri let her eyes widen a bit. Kiba narrowed his eyes at the alpha. Bri furrowed her brow at the woman. She seemed to be listening to the conversation but she didn't show any reaction.

Bri focused back on the conversation. "Now why don't you all just get lost?" Asked the leader. "You do have somewhere you belong, don't you?"

They walked off, Bri standing next to Tsume, her eyes glaring at the man that still stared at her with lustful eyes. Toboe ushered Kiba away, gently pulling him by the arm.

They walked along the sea and Bri felt grateful that she (hopefully) wouldn't have to see that guy again. Something about him and his eyes gave her the creeps.

Tsume was complaining about the pack giving him the brush off and snapped at Hige when he said something. Toboe stood next to Bri and said, "_This city doesn't feel right. There are so many wolves but it's still cold_"

"_Well maybe they're right, the sooner we get out of this city the better" _Tsume said over his shoulder.

"_And where do you think we should go exactly? There has to be something here, look how many wolves are in this city. I think we should stay and found out"_

"As long as we stay away from that pack. One of them was eyeing me like I was a piece of meat the bastard" Bri growled out and they all looked at her shocked.

"What? You didn't notice that? Seriously?" She said and they all looked away, embarrassed. Except for Tsume. He looked at her with a strange look in his eyes, one that made her belly flutter strangely.

"What?" He shook his head and kept walking. She looked after him confused and Hige wiggled his eyebrows at her. "What?" She asked him but he just shook his head.

"I don't wanna spoil the fun"

"What fun? Will somebody tell me what's going on?" But everybody ignored her and she huffed. She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling cold suddenly as a breeze whipped at her exposed legs.

She was lagging behind the others and she tried to walk faster but she felt like she was being watched. She twisted her neck to look over her shoulder but saw nothing. She shrugged and turned back, not being able to see the group anymore.

"Guys? Where did you go?" She ran forward, trying to see if they were further then she thought but she couldn't see or smell any sign of them. She zipped up her jacket and kept walking, still feeling like she was being watched.

She felt hands close over her arm and yank her into an alleyway. She screamed in surprise and felt somebody holding her to the alley wall, a hand covering her mouth. She tried biting at the hand and when she successfully did it, her captor yelled in pain and let her go. She dodged away from his hands and ran out of the alleyway. She turned to see that her captor was the man that had been eyeing her before.

"Get lost! Leave me the hell alone!" She yelled at him, trying to run but he grabbed her by the hair and yanked her back to him. She yelped in pain and noticing that he was trying to drag her back to the alleyway, she started biting, twisting and kicking. She managed to somehow kick his groin, hard and he fell to the ground, releasing her for the second time.

"Get back here you dirty little bitch!" He yelled at her, running after her. She morphed into a wolf to run faster but he had already morphed and knocked her to the ground, standing over her.

He bit at her ears and when she tried to wriggle away he closed his jaws around her neck and bit, making her whine in pain. He nudged her onto her back and stood over her and forced her to raise her rump in the air.

'Crap, crap, crap. I'm gonna get raped.' Thought Bri over and over again, trying to wriggle away from the male. She lowered her body closer to the ground but he bit her ears again lifted her head by the scruff her neck and threw her head towards the ground, making contact with the concrete.

She howled loudly, frantically hoping that somebody would hear and save her. She hated being small and weak. She tried to buck him off but that only caused him to grow more aroused.

Bri snarled and bucked harder, wriggling harder to get away.

'TSUME! TOBOE! KIBA! HIGE! HELLLLLP!" She howled, desperately hoping they would come. The male, annoyed at her howling got off her and biting her scruff, chucked her at the wall. She struggled to get up and failed a couple of times. The wolf was advancing and she was hurt, disorientated and woozy.

She managed to stand up for a while but quickly fell down, turning into her human form. Two blurs jumped at the male wolf, biting and snapping their jaws at him. Bri tried to focus on who it was but all she could see was a white wolf and a grey wolf. The lone male snapped back and a honey brown wolf joined in the fight. The grey wolf trotted over to Bri and nudged her side.

"….Tsume…" She murmured, skimming her hand through his fur before letting it fall and giving him a weak smile. Tsume reverted back to his human form and picked her up. "Did the bastard do anything to you?" He asked her worriedly, jade eyes scanning her body for any sign of rape.

"If you count throwing me against the wall, pulling my hair, making me hit my head on the concrete and make me feel small and weak, then yes he did do things to me. But nothing else" He still looked worried.

"Bastard…I wish I could kill him" Tsume rumbled and Bri touched his chest softly. "If you do, can you let me have some fun? I wanna kick him in the groin again" She laughed softly then mewled in pain. Her ribs hurt badly.

Her eyes were starting to flutter, her eyelids drooping. Tsume noticed this and growled at her, "Don't fall asleep on me shorty, I'm not your bed"

"I'll make you my bed then" She retorted tiredly and her eyes closed, her breathing becoming slow and deep. Tsume sighed annoyed and brought the sleeping girl closer to his chest.

A memory floated at the back of his head, words from his past. He tried to block it but it started creeping back and he was forced to watch the memory.

**_A younger Tsume was walking along with his father. This was one of many lessons that Tsume had from his father, teaching him the ways of the pack and how an alpha should act. But Tsume was reluctant about this lesson. Today's lesson was on female alphas._**

**_They stopped in the clearing that Tsume and Bri came to play and Tsume could still smell Bri's scent in the air. He smiled to himself and didn't notice his father smiling knowingly. _**

**_They sat down and his father started teaching him about the birds and the bees. Tsume blushed scarlet and his father laughed at his expense. His father hurried through that explanation and started talking about female alphas._**

**"_Female alphas are the female counterparts to the alpha. When you become alpha, you are expected to have a mate as soon as possible and have pups. You know that your mother is the female alpha of this pack right? We'll when you grow up and replace me as alpha, you will choose your mate and mark her as your own"_**

**"_Mark her?" Tsume asked, wondering what his father meant._**

**"_Marking means that when you are certain she is the one and you want to continue your relationship with her, you bite her on her neck. Not hard enough to kill, just hard enough to scar. That way, wolves will know that she is yours and they won't touch her"_**

**_Tsume nodded in understanding._**

**"_I hope that doesn't happen for a while but knowing how fast you and Bri are growing, it might has well happen tomorrow" His father chuckled and Tsume stared at his father at the mention of Bri._**

**"_What does Bri have to do with this?"_**

**"_You play around with her and you bicker with her like any of the other wolves but you care deeply for her. You like her don't you?" _**

**_Tsume nodded hesitantly before answering, "Well of course I like her, she's my best friend!"_**

**"_Tsume I mean do you like like Bri. As in loving her like" Tsume ducked his head, blushing._**

**"_I-I-I don't k-know. Maybe?" He stuttered_**

**_His father chuckled at him and ruffled his short hair before standing up. "We should be getting back now, it's getting late"_**

**_Tsume nodded in agreement, his face still quite red. They walked through the village and when they got home, Tsume went up to his room and lay on the bed, thinking about his feelings. For the next couple of weeks he hadn't been able to look at Bri without his face flaming up._**

The memory faded and Tsume chuckled at his younger self. He sure was an innocent idiot back then. He found his eyes gazing down at Bri as he walked and felt his mouth go a little bit dry as he watched her. 'She's beautiful' He thought to himself before shaking his head.

No he wasn't allowed to think that about his best friend. He wasn't supposed to act like a lovesick puppy now. That was for Toboe and Hige. Not him. He walked faster to the place they were staying for the night and placed Bri down gently on the blanket. As he covered her with thin blanket, he couldn't help but notice how much she resembled a doll. She looked like she was made of porcelain, her skin appearing white in the moonlight. He shook his head again and went over to the window, yelling at himself in his head.

That stupid memory was making things awkward now. He shouldn't have remembered it. Tsume felt like ripping something to shreds. And what better than the Moss guy that had tried to touch his girl? He stopped with his hand on the doorknob, not knowing how he got there.

"Crap I got it bad" He growled to himself and at the sound of his voice, Bri whimpered in her sleep. He looked at her and she looked frightened as hell.

"Get away from me!" She mumbled over and over again. Tsume realised that she was dreaming about that bastard raping her.

Great, now he had to comfort her. He walked over to her and whispered words of comfort in her ear. She stopped talking and relaxed, her breathing no longer hitched and agitated. He sighed and sat next to her sleeping form, leaning against the wall.

He hated liking his best friend. He hated being in a pack. He wanted to be alone. But he couldn't since Bri was relying on him so much and had already given so much up. She had left her family, her pack, everything for him.

He stayed awake, watching Bri in case she started panicking again. He looked to the other side to see the pup, fast asleep in his wolf form. Tsume hadn't noticed the kid as he walked in.

Kiba and Hige walked in with a few minor scratches. They had beaten up the bastard pretty well and then handed him over to that pack leader. Apparently the pack leader looked surprised at the behaviour of one of his wolves and the woman next to him and told Hige to pass on her apologies to Bri.

Kiba and Hige soon fell asleep but Tsume still couldn't sleep. He had a sort of restlessness about him and he kept fidgeting. By the time the sun started rising, he had finally drifted off to sleep.

Bri woke up early in the morning. Weak sunlight filtered through the window and cracked wall. She started stretching, then winced in pain because of her ribs. She got up and searched through the place for a reflective surface. Luckily, it had a bathroom which had a mirror that had some minor cracks in it.

She raised her torn top and looked at the bruises that covered her sides and back. She poked a finger at one rib and hissed in pain. It didn't hurt that much to breathe now so it was most likely only a couple of bruises. Her scalp hurt as well and she had some cuts to her face. She felt the intense need to wash her skin, hundreds and hundreds of times over until she managed to un-feel those fingers touching her. She shuddered and let her top fall back down. When she looked into the mirror she jumped, noticing Tsume standing in the doorway. She whirled around and gave a nervous smile.

He stepped forward and raised her top again, exposing her midriff. She blushed slightly in embarrassment at having Tsume look at her so intently. She turned her head away, hiding her pink cheeks. Tsume lightly grazed his thumb over her ribs, careful not to push too hard at the bruises.

Tsume's fingers started shaking and she looked at him, alarmed to see rage on his face. "I wish we could kill that bastard" Bri grabbed his fingers and smiled at him. "So do I bad wolf, so do I"

When the others woke up, they saw Bri awake and happier, talking excitedly with Tsume. Kiba and Hige shared a look when they saw Tsume's expression. Hige was about to say something teasingly but he locked eyes with Tsume and the older wolf narrowed his eyes at him.

They walked about the city, seeing glimpses of the other pack but nothing extraordinary. At nightfall they walked towards the grave yard.

"_This place gives me the willies_" Toboe whined and Bri ruffled his hair, "_Guys, I keep hearing something weird_"

"_Dammit would you stop being afraid of everything?" _Tsume snapped at him, walking in front.

As they walked closer to the centre, they heard the sound dirt being shifted. Suddenly, a wolf popped up from a hole in the ground, causing Tobe and Hige to yell out and fall backwards. Bri jumped back and laughed at the old wolf's ear hair.

"_Hey gramps what are you doing? You scared the crap out of us_" Hige complained from the ground.

"_Oh I was only digging a hole for myself" _the old man replied, smiling at the group.

"_A hole for yourself?" _Asked Hige.

"_Are you saying you're digging a grave?"_ Kiba asked, pale blue eyes staring at the man.

"_When you get to my age, you begin to recognise the signs of when your time is up"_

"_You might wanna dig a little faster than" _Tsume told the old man.

"_Excuse me but do you if there are any Lunar Flowers in this city?" _Kiba asked.

The old man's eyes widened owlishly before exclaiming, "_oh, oh OH! Apparently, it went on forever! Long, long ago, they bloomed all over this island but then one day they were all dug up and now there isn't a single petal left" _He finished sadly.

"_Can you tell me what colour Lunar flowers are_?" Toboe asked the old man.

"_What colour they were? Why, the colour of the moon!" _

Tsume snorted, "_And what about Paradise? Have you been there?"_

"_Oh every wolf goes in search, I myself tried to look for it once"_

"_What did you do?" _The pup listened to the old man with wide eyes.

The old man didn't answer but got out of his hole and walked upwards, the group following him.

"_Look there's the entrance over there" _ The old man pointed to a pipe, its opening covered in branches of wood and writing on the top, worn away slightly by age.

"_Eugh that reeks! It smells Death warmed over!" _Hige exclaimed and Bri sniffed hesitatingly before covering her nose as well.

"_I was kinda hoping that it would be a nice place" _Toboe murmured, staring at the pipe with Kiba.

Kiba started walking towards the pipe but the old man stopped him.

"_There have been many young wolves that set out through there but not one reached Paradise" _The old man told him softly.

The old man mumbled something else to Kiba, but a voice came from behind them. "_Okay old man,I think you should call it a day, don't forget there's work to do tomorrow" _They turned around and saw the alpha male.

The old man thanked the pack leader and walked back towards the entrance of the graveyard.

"_Wait! When you and your pack searched for Paradise, was this the path you took?" _Kiba asked and the alpha turned to look at him.

"_I thought I told you that it doesn't exist"_

"_Zali" _The old man stood next to him. Zali looked at him and turned back to Kiba.

"_If you kids disrupt the peace of this pack in any way, I'll show you no mercy. Now get out before dawn. Is that clear?"_

He put an arm around the old man and they walked back to the entrance.

The group stared at the pipe, wondering if Paradise was actually at the end of that pipe.

When they made it back to their sleeping place, Tsume asked Kiba if he still believed in Paradise. Bri tried telling him to just let it go, but Tsume has having none of it.

"_They said that they've been there and it wasn't that nice"_

"_Well maybe what they found wasn't Paradise" _Kiba replied, staring out the window.

"_Where the hell does all that confidence come from?" _Tsume snorted, "_Anyway, you know it's hopeless and there's absolutely no guarantee that we'll ever reach it. We'd be stupid to keep going" _

"_Don't say that, besides getting angrier just makes you hungrier" _Toboe said, concern and worry in his voice.

Tsume lay back and Bri did the same, both lying next to each other. "Tsume don't worry the pup" She whispered to him in a low voice. He stared at her and she felt like he was looking at her soul. He didn't say anything and started talking to Kiba again.

"_Let's just hang around here and just die in the gutter, start digging some holes like that old man" _

"_It's not confidence, I'm not really sure what it is. But it's always there, screaming inside of me. I just have to know, that's why I've kept on running all this time. I can't imagine not believing in it" _Kiba replied, voice soft and weary.

Toboe looked awed at his story and Bri could see Tsume look somewhat impressed with Kiba. Bri smiled and looked at Hige when he started sniffing loudly and stare at the doorway.

The woman came in with a warm smile on her face. "_You guys must be starving by now_"

"_Yes! Yes! We are, we are! It's very kind of you to notice" _Hige shouted excitedly. Bri giggled at his behaviour.

Kiba walked away and the pup followed him. Hige started munching on the bread and tried convincing Tsume and Bri to eat. Bri came closer and tore some bread off, eating it slowly. It was stale but still good to eat.

"_What about you, are you gonna eat_?" the woman asked Tsume but he turned his head.

"_Aw c'mon, lighten up and dig in already will ya? I mean face it, we don't know when our next meals gonna be_" Hige mumbled from between bites.

Bri tore of some more bread, saving some for Kiba and Toboe. Knowing Hige, he would eat the whole thing in 10 seconds flat.

"_Weren't you listening back there? Our little trip is over. We don't have a destination" _Tsume snapped and Bri sighed exasperated at Tsume's behaviour.

"_Well what do you think, Miss uh" _Hige asked the woman.

"_My name is Cole_"

"_Cole huh?" _Hige said with a smile.

Tsume grunted at Hige's flirting. Bri giggled and Cole turned to look at her, her expression apologetic.

"I'm sorry about the night before"

Bri shook her head. "Its fine, it would have been worse if he actually did anything. But if he comes near me, I'll rip him to shreds"

Cole laughed and agreed. "_Maybe you guys should think about staying around for a while_"

Hige smiled, "_Well that's tempting isn't it?"_

Tsume got up with a grunt and walked out the same way Kiba left just as Toboe got back. "_Guys Kiba's gone off on his own and now Tsume's left"_

"_Let him go. This place has more going for it than I thought" _Hige replied, looking up at Cole.

Bri stood up and walked over to Toboe and ruffled his hair. "I'll go after Tsume, pup. You stay here and eat. Make sure Hige doesn't flirt too much with Cole, okay?" She laughed and walked off, following Tsume.

"Wait up!" She called after him and he stopped, turning around. She ran up to him and they started walking together.

"Why did you follow me?" He asked her as they walked along the empty streets.

"Because you'll get yourself in some sort of situation and then nobody will know where you are. Plus, I brought you some bread" She told him, pushing the bread pieces into his hand.

He accepted them and chewed at them, looking at the crescent moon.

"Do you reckon we'll stay here for a little bit longer?" I asked him, putting my hands in pockets.

"I don't know" He answered simply, still staring at the moon.

"Why don't you believe in Paradise Tsume? After all the stories we heard when we were younger, why don't you believe in it?"

"Because that's what Paradise is. It's simply a children's tale told to pups. It doesn't exist"

"But it could! We don't know! We should keep looking for it and help Kiba look for that flower girl. Maybe she'll help us find Paradise…" Bri trailed off, biting her lip.

"If we look for it and it doesn't exist we would have done all that for nothing. Don't be so naïve Bri" He told her, finally looking at her.

"I'm not being naïve! At least we would be with our own kind instead of with some stinking humans! If you don't wanna be here then go back to Freeze City. See if I care" She yelled at him, turning her heel and walking briskly to the abandoned house they had slept in.

Tsume yelled after her, telling her not be an idiot but she ignored him and kept walking. He huffed angrily.

"Fine! Maybe I will go back! But if something happens to you when I'm not here then don't blame it on me!" He yelled at her retreating back.

He walked through the streets, amongst the burning rubbish, muttering angrily. How could she think that this journey would be worth it? Even if they didn't find Paradise, they would've wasted months just to walk into their deaths.

He was walking when he heard somebody ran beside him. It was the runt.

"_Where are you going? We can't keep doing this coz before you know it; we'll all get split up from each other_"

"_Fine by me" _Tsume growled and the runt stopped.

"_It's not by me" _He whispered and Tsume looked at the pup over his shoulder.

Tsume kept walking with Toboe in silence, until they reached the town's train station. Tsume sat on the bench while Toboe sat on a platform and howled before coming over to the bench and curling up into a ball.

Tsume stared at the ceiling, thinking about if he should stay or not. Freeze City didn't have much going for it but it was a sort of home to Tsume. But if Bri wasn't with him, what was the point? He decided to stay, purely for the fact that he didn't want to go back to the stinking city, not because he cared deeply for Bri. Or at least, he tried to convince himself that it wasn't because of Bri.

Announcements came on and in the distance, a train blared its horn. Hige and Bri walked up to the others, Hige talking to Tsume and Toboe while Bri looked at the people in the station.

Bri completely ignored Tsume, which was simple since it seemed like he was ignoring her as well. Toboe and Hige looked confused at their silence.

"Must be a lover's spat" He whispered to Toboe and Toboe looked more confused. Hige laughed and nudged the pup. "You'll get it when you're older"

Bri looked over the rails and gasped. The others joined her and stared at the scene below them. There were at least 6 wolves, tied up to a cart like a bunch of dogs. Wolves and humans alike looked at the scene with indifference.

"_What are they doing_?" Hige asked but nobody answered him.

A human cracked his whip and the wolves started pulling, straining under the weight of the cart. They pulled the cart upwards, towards the entrance of the train station.

"_What the hell is going on down there?" _Tsume growled at Zali, who had joined them.

Zali turned to look at Tsume, saying nothing.

The dogs stopped halfway from the entrance, a human saying they should rest the dogs. The wolves panted and ripped up the meat the humans threw at them.

Tsume looked livid at the scene. "_Start talking mister" _He snarled at Zali.

"_The train makes a quick stop. It gives us and the humans a chance to eat. It's the only way we can make a living here. Work for them and they feed us"_

"_Scratching each other's backs" _Hige said softly. "_Just like you Tsume _and Bri, _you _two_ used to do the same thing"_

"_We might have used them but we were never used by them!" _Tsume snapped and Bri growled softly at Hige's words.

"_You're opinion doesn't change a damn thing" _Zali said.

The wolves started moving again and one grey wolf started lagging.

"_Gramps is in serious trouble!" _Hige explained and Bri gasped, feeling angry at the humans when they cracked their whips at him.

The old wolf collapsed, not getting up when the humans cracked their whips at him more ferociously. The other wolves stopped, staring at the old wolf. Zali didn't show any emotion on his face at the sight of one of his pack members dying.

Zali whipped his head around to the loading area's entrance and the others turned as well. There stood Kiba, his hair bristling in anger. He morphed into a wolf and ran up the ramp. Zali gasped and jumped down, standing in front of Kiba.

Zali morphed into a wolf and they jumped at each other, Zali trying to hold Kiba down. Men ran to help Zali, forgetting about the dead wolf.

The others simply stared at the scene, dumbfounded. They joined the other pack for the burial of the old wolf, Bri standing closer to Tsume as the bastard Moss was there. Her skin still felt slimy from him. When he looked at her, she bared her teeth at him. She and Tsume were talking now, just like their conversation from the night before hadn't happened.

Kiba was leaning against a gravestone, holding his injured shoulder. "_I thought I told you not to interfere" _Zali said to him, "_We have our own way of doing things here"_

"_Living like a down and out bunch of strays, clinging to this disgusting place and doing what you do. How can you call that life?!" _Kiba yelled at him, anger rolling off him in waves.

"_What the hell do you know about it?" _ Zali yelled back, both wolves narrowing their eyes at each other.

"_You're pathetic_" Kiba snarled at him.

Zali just turned back. "_You kids are still young_" He said in a soft tone, staring at the rising sun.

The group turned back, Hige helping Kiba stand up. By the time they made it back to where they were staying, Kiba had passed out. They laid him on the ground and Toboe started putting herbs on Kiba's cuts with Bri.

"_This should hopefully help his wounds heal faster" _Toboe said and Bri nodded.

"_Typical. He never thinks first .Damn Kiba" _Hige complained, looking unaffected that his friend was injured.

"_He couldn't watch that, without doing something" _Toboe said, defending Kiba.

"_Still he shouldn't have butted in. Let's just go, get out of here" _Tsume said, arms crossed over his chest.

"_We can't leave Kiba now_" Toboe and Bri said in unison.

"_Which is exactly why we should have left here yesterday_" Hige said.

"_What ever happened to living here, it's got more than we thought?" _Tsume asked Hige.

Hige made a sound and turned his head.

Kiba opened his eyes and tried getting up. Toboe held Kiba down. "_Wait, you're not going anywhere with these wounds and an empty stomach_"

"You sound like his mother pup. But he's right, you can't move until those wounds close over and heal" Bri told Kiba seriously, ignoring Toboe's indignant look at being called a mum.

"_Well, we know somebody here who has a stuffed gut_" Tsume said, looking pointedly at Hige.

"You guys ate some as well" Hige whined.

"Actually you ate more than the rest of us. Therefore, you have a stuffed gut. Here Kiba, I managed to save you some, you too Toboe" Bri said, sticking her tongue out at Hige and handing Toboe and Kiba some bread.

"It's not much but it's all I could save" She told them apologetically but they shook their heads.

"It's fine" They thanked her and ate some.

"_Cole was nice enough to bring us food and you guys turned up your noses. It was rude_. Now you're eating it so it's even ruder" Hige told them.

"_Did you have a nice time on your little date?" _Tsume asked Hige.

"_I don't know, there was something 'bout her that seemed lonely" _He told them, scratching his cheek.

Kiba and Toboe finished off the bread quickly enough. Kiba struggled with tearing the hard bread so Bri helped him and placed the strips in his mouth. Kiba's cheeks went a little pink in embarrassment at being babied but thanked Bri anyway.

"_So what do we do? We gotta do something" _The pup asked.

"_Ooh like impose on Cole's hospitality for a while?" _Hige asked, leaning forward excitedly.

"_No like you getting us something to eat._ A bite of bread isn't much to sustain us. _By yourself_"Tsume snapped at the wolf.

"_By myself?!" _ He whined and Tsume glared at him, "_Alright I'm going" _He said and stood up, putting his hands in his hoodie pocket.

Bri shook her head at their conversation. She looked worriedly at Kiba. "Do you reckon you'll be alright by night?"

"_I'll go look for more herbs for his wounds_, just in case" Toboe said, running off.

"You should try sleeping a bit more, it'll help" Bri told Kiba gently and he closed his eyes, falling asleep almost straight away.

Tsume looked at them and sighed, annoyed that he had to look after an injured Kiba with Bri. "Why haven't you left yet?" Bri asked him softly and he looked up at her in shock. He thought she had forgotten about it.

"Decided not to. There's nothing left in that city for me" He told her, watching her comb her curls with her fingers.

She winced as she encountered a few knots and tried to untangle them. By the time she finished, her hair was mostly knot free.

"I'm glad you didn't leave" She told him and leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes.

Tsume stared at her, his chest tightening at her words. He harrumphed and leaned back against the wall, waiting for Porky to show up with food.

After a while, Kiba woke up. "_You know, we wasted a hell of a lot of time because of you" _Tsume told him.

Kiba narrowed his eyes in irritation. Tsume kept talking. "_The others have gone off to look for food. What were you up to last night? I know you didn't get all those wounds from the station" _

Kiba didn't answer him and Tsume turned his head away. Bri made a noise and turned over. Kiba looked at her. "You love her don't you?" He asked Tsume, voice rough from sleep.

"What did you say?" Tsume asked him, shocked at his words.

"You love her don't you? You care for her deeply."

"I don't love her, she's my friend" Tsume told him.

"If she was just your friend, you wouldn't have left your humans for her"

Tsume looked stumped for a second. "I don't love her. We were best friends when we were pups. I wouldn't leave her alone because she would get killed straight off"

Kiba hummed under his breath and no more was said on the subject. It was all silent until Kiba started talking out of the blue.

"_I saw them, when I was younger. I was still just a cub. In the region I was born, they blossomed all over"_

"_What are you talking about?" _Tsume asked him.

"_White flowers that only bloomed under a full moon. They were Lunar flowers"_

Tsume looked startled, staring at Kiba.

"_They were all burnt to ashes" _ Kiba kept talking.

Tsume stood up and walked closer to Kiba. "_What the hell brought this on?"_

"_A fire raged in our land, burning all the flowers in an instant and all of my friends, whose escape route were cut off were killed. I was the only one who survived. Why me? Why just me? I don't have a pack anymore, the only place for me is Paradise" _Kiba told Tsume in a broken voice.

Tsume only stared at Kiba, realising how close their pasts were. They had survived when their packs hadn't (or in Tsume's case, some had).

It was quiet again until they suddenly heard a bang echo from the distance. It was so loud that Bri's olive eyes snapped open in panic. "What was that?" she asked the two males but they didn't have a clue.

Kiba stood up and Bri made a move to help him up but he waved her away.

"_What do you think you're doing?" _Tsume asked him.

"_I'm alright, I can move now" _Kiba answered back.

Suddenly, Toboe appeared from behind Tsume. He asked Kiba if he was alright.

"_Where's Porky?" _Tsume asked Toboe.

"_That's just it! He got caught in this really weird trap and then they took him away somewhere!"_

Bri and Kiba looked at Toboe in alarm.

"_All he has to do is fool the humans that caught him and get away" _Tsume said simply.

"_But that's just it. He was knocked out by those wolves that we saw, the ones that live here" _Tsume gasped, looking annoyed.

"_Why the hell would they do something like that?"_

Tsume berated the pup by saying that he should have followed them and the pup looked ashamed. Bri walked over and punched Tsume's arm.

"It's okay pup. We'll find out soon enough"

Kiba started walking towards them, limping. "_Let's go" _He said, placing one hand on the wall.

"_Where to?" _ Tsume asked him.

"_The city" _And with that, Kiba trudged out the doorway.

The others followed after him, slowing their pace.

"_This is taking forever" _Tsume said and grabbed Kiba, hauling him over his shoulder.

"_Hey! Cut it out" _Kiba told him but Tsume didn't listen.

"_Hurry" _Said Toboe, running alongside Tsume and Bri.

They reached the city and Kiba told Tsume to put him down. He placed Kiba on his feet. Kiba leaned against the wall. They saw a familiar figure walk into an alley.

"_That's the lady. The one from yesterday" _Toboe said.

"Cole" Bri said, giving them the woman's name.

They ran after Cole and saw Zali's pack, minus Zali himself.

"_Well it looks like last night's beating didn't sink in" _One wolf said and the other males joined in. Tsume looked at Kiba but Kiba took no notice.

They heard footsteps from behind them and the four of them whirled around.

"_Zali" _Cole breathed out.

"_You mean you ordered this?" _Tsume growled at Zali.

"_Ordered what?" _He asked.

"_Don't play dumb!" _ Tsume growled at him

"_Is what we heard true? That you sold out friend to those humans?" _Kiba asked him.

"_How low will you mongrels sink?" _Tsume asked.

"Tsume don't snap" Bri told him, getting the attention of Moss. He leered at her, making her bare her teeth at him.

"_What's going on here?" _Zali asked his pack.

"_Hell if I know" _Moss answered, looking away from Bri.

"_That guy. I heard him tell the humans to kill him" _Toboe shouted and Zali's eyes widened.

"_Moss!" _Zali growled out.

Kiba ran towards Moss but Zali pushed him back. Zali punched Moss in the jaw.

"_This is my pack!" _He snarled at Kiba.

"_Why the hell did you sell out their friend?" _He asked Moss.

Moss stood up, "_He's an outsider, that's why"_

"_Zali, isn't you whose been selling out his friends?" _One of the males called out to Zali.

"_What?" _He asked, shocked.

The man kept talking, "_It's the truth and you know it. You don't even do a dog's work"_

"_Is that how you really feel?" _Zali asked, his eyes narrowing. "_I always thought as the leader, I had to do what was good for the pack, without letting my personal feelings get in my way. Everything I've done is to protect the pack."_

"_Yeah well none of us see you as the leader anymore!" _Moss yelled at him. He punched Zali in the jaw and the others joined him.

Kiba moved forward but Zali yelled at him to stay out of it. He took in more punches and kicks.

"_Stop it! Just stop it!" _Cole screamed out, holding her hands to her ears. The men stopped and looked at her.

"_Wait, tell me where they took their friend" _Zali spoke, voice trembling from pain.

"_I don't know. I don't know!" _Moss answered him and walked away with the rest of the pack.

Cole ran over towards Zali. She helped him sit up, her face worried.

"_You don't have any idea where they might have taken him?" _Tsume asked, walking closer towards Zali.

"_They had him on the back of an orange truck" _Toboe said, standing next to Tsume. Bri looked at the pup fondly. It was amazing how he still liked Tsume even though Tsume always yelled at him.

"_If you plan to give up on Paradise and turn back, now might be the time" _Zali said to Kiba.

"_I don't have anywhere to go back to. The only thing I can do is keep moving forward." _Kiba told him.

"_Even if Hell's what we are heading too" _Tsume interjected, causing Kiba to look at him shocked. Bri let a small smile grace her lips. "_You people might not have been able to find Paradise but there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that we will" _

The others looked at Tsume, shocked. Even Bri looked a little surprised at his attitude.

Zali got up. Cole protested but he interrupted her. "_I can still run". _He started running down the alley, the others following him.

They all ran onto the road, spotting an orange truck with Hige trapped in a cage on the back. The truck swerved and fell on its side, causing the cage to fall off.

They all stared at Hige, who stared back at them. "_Dammit, do you guys always have to be so rough?" _he asked them, sitting up.

"_Do you know how lucky you are to be alive?" _Toboe scolded him, placing his hands on his hips.

"Don't be such a pansy Hige" Bri said with a smile.

"_Come on you can get out of here yourself right?" _Tsume asked Hige.

"_Yeah but you know, that barbaric stuff really isn't my thing" He said, closing one eye._

Kiba moved towards the cage and started pulling the bars apart, making a hole for Hige to get through.

One of the humans opened the door and started shouting at them but Zali jumped at them, still in his wolf form. He bit down on the human's arm, causing him to drop the gun.

The wolves ran off, Zali leading them to the pipe. The pipe was small, causing the males to crouch down. Bri stood up straight, her head just brushing the ceiling. The walked out of the pipe and into a massive one.

"_This is as far as I plan to go. From here on out, you're all on your own" _Zali told them.

"_You're not coming with us?" _Kiba asked. "_You're gonna keep living here?"_

"_I don't know if the place we found really was Paradise but I believe that there are some that can make it and there are some that can't" _Zali said. "_It's time for you to find out if the real Paradise does exist at the end of this road"_

"_You know that you don't seem like much of a wolf" _Tsume told him

"_Tsume" _Kiba said warningly.

"_You know a wolf protects his own. It's natural for him to have another pack" _He continued. Bri stared at him. He was speaking just like how he used to speak, when he was learning about how to be alpha from his father.

"_You're right. I really have fallen" _Zali said, looking over his shoulder at them.

Kiba started running and the others followed him. Bri stopped in front of Zali.

"Thanks for all your help" She said, smiling.

Zali looked at her. He nodded his head and turned back towards the smaller pipe. Bri ran off, catching up with the others.

They ran all the way out of the pipe and kept running, following Kiba. They would follow him anywhere, Bri was certain.

* * *

Wow I can't believe I'm typing this up so fast! :D Hope you liked this chapter, sorry about the almost rape scene but it had to happen... :)

I'm scared Tsume is acting way OOC...I really hope he isn't.

Anyway, remember:

_Italics _mean quotes taken from the anime

_**Bold Italics**_mean flashbacks/memories

Leave me a review! I wanna know what's on your mind.

-Black :)


	4. The Flower Maiden

**_Disclaimer_****_: I do not own Wolf's Rain. I do not get paid for this and I only own my OC Bri. _**

* * *

**_Chapter 4: the Flower Maiden:_**

* * *

It had been two days since they left Zali in the pipe. They walked through a dense forest, surrounded by huge trees and overgrown plants.

They trudged along, twigs breaking under their feet. Toboe stopped a frown on his face.

"_C'mon runt, hurry up! Or we'll leave you behind" _Hige called to Toboe, the others not stopping.

Toboe ran after them and asked them, "_Hey don't you find it strange that we're in a forest but there aren't any animals around?"_

Hige sighed, "_Tell me something, you do know you're a wolf right? Think about it genius, they probably ran off when they saw us"_

_"Oh right" _

"_That's the problem with taking city kids to the woods" _Hige said, causing Toboe to glare at him.

"_I was thinking, I haven't smelt that flower at all since we left the city gates. I wonder if this really is the right way" _

_"You wanna give us a clue here?" _Tsume asked Kiba.

"_Sure"_

_"Where exactly are we headed?"_

_"To Paradise" _Kiba replied, staring in front.

"_And just what in the hell is guiding you there?" _Tsume asked him, irritated.

"_I'm going on instinct" _

Suddenly, lasers were fired in the sky and explosions boomed. They all looked up, seeing the lasers being fired at a small ship.

"_Argh! What's going on?" _Toboe asked, clinging onto Bri's arm.

"_Well they're really going at it_" Hige exclaimed

Kiba stared, a small gasp escaping his mouth. "_She's there"_ And with those words he started walking off.

"_Hold on! There's nothing to do with us! Stay out of it" _Tsume yelled at Kiba.

Kiba paid no heed to his words and kept walking. "_I can feel it"_

_"Feel what?" _Hige asked him, mouth opened in shock.

"_I'm not sure...but it's so familiar" _Kiba murmured, eyes glued on the ship. He turned back to the others, snarling at them. "_Come on, don't you guys feel anything at all?!"_

He started running towards the ship, leaving the others to stare at his back.

"_Kiba!" _Tsume yelled after him before running after him. Bri followed him, confused at Kiba's behaviour.

Toboe turned to Hige. "_Can you feel anything?" _

_"That guy is hopeless" _Hige told him and they ran after Tsume and Bri.

They were all running, each as clueless as the next at what was happening. All of a sudden, they saw the ship get hit by a laser and it plummeted to the ground.

Something fell away from the ship, twinkling brightly. Kiba increased his pace, causing the others to fall behind.

"_Kiba!" _Tsume and Bri yelled after him.

"_Wait for us!"_ Toboe panted, falling behind the others.

Bri fell back and grabbed Toboe, helping him catch up with the others. Hige looked up, shock filling his face. "_That scent" _He murmured.

The ship finally made contact with the ground, resulting in a huge explosion that echoed throughout the forest. None of the wolves were paying attention; they just stared at the twinkling shape that smelled so familiar.

Bri widened her eyes, "The flower girl". The others nodded their heads, remembering the flowery scent from Freeze City. The twinkling shape floated, heading towards the top of a gigantic cliff that stood before them.

They started scaling the wall, jumping from ledge to ledge. Bri lost her footing and Tsume's hand shot around hers, stopping her from falling to the ground.

"Thanks" She said softly, feeling her cheeks go pink.

He just nodded and helped her, his hand still in hers.

Hige sniffed, "_It's faint, but it's up there alright" _

Kiba scaled the cliff furiously, his eyes filled with determination.

"_Why are you so worked up?" _Tsume asked him.

"_Urgh, its got the scent of a noble mixed in there too" _Hige whined, causing Tsume to stare at him.

_"A noble?" _He whispered. He frowned and stared up at Kiba.

"_Hey Kiba, um I've got this fluttery feeling in my chest. Is that what you meant?" _Toboe asked Kiba, looking unsure.

Kiba nodded, "_Let's go"_

They finally made it to the top, only to be greeted with the sight of forest, overrun by gnarled trees with their roots showing.

They walked, following the flowery scent. Toboe's cheeks were flushed red. "_I don't know why but my heart is pumping and I feel all warm and tingly inside"_

_"This is the cool feeling you get, before pouncing on a pretty babe" _Hige chuckled, only to whine in pain when Bri smacked him on the back of his head, jumping to reach it.

"Excuse me, girl here. I don't wanna hear about what you feel when you a see a girl" She snapped at him. "It smells amazing though" she murmured, referring to the smell.

Tsume looked scathingly at Hige_, "Don't let your guard down. But there's a shiver up my spine as well"_

Kiba was silent, looking straight ahead. The forest started thinning and they were greeted by the sight of water.

They reached an open field with bright green grass and flowers blooming everywhere. A lake stretched in front of them, seemingly going on forever. A huge rock was suspended above the lake, connected to a cliff. Water rushed down into the lake.

"_Woah"_ Toboe said, awed like the others at the sight.

They noticed a girl sitting on a rock, her feet in the water. She was wearing a white suit and had gold jewellery around her wrists and neck. She had short pink hair and big magenta eyes. She looked over at them and they all gasped.

"_It's her, it's really her" _Hige whispered.

"_My heart just skipped a beat" _Toboe exclaimed.

"Me too pup, me too" Bri mumbled, staring at the girl.

"_Who is that?" _ Tsume asked warily.

The girl jumped off her rock, standing ankle deep in the water. Kiba started forward, ignoring their warnings.

He walked towards her until he was standing in front of her, his feet in the water.

"_Cheza" _He said softly, causing the girl to blink in shock before smiling gently. She leaned forward and started petting Kiba, who had reverted into his wolf form.

She knelt in the water and hugged Kiba, her arms wrapped around his neck. "_We meet…at last"_ She whispered to him.

The others were staring at the scene with dreamy expressions.

"_I wanna be held like that" _Toboe sighed.

"_…Can that be her?" _Tsume asked.

"_Yeah, its her. That's the flower maiden" _Hige said dreamily.

"She's gorgeous" Bri whispered.

They walked back towards the forest, Kiba and Cheza in front holding hands. Cheza turned around.

"_This way! This way!" _She called to them, waving her free arm in the air.

"_That's Cheza alright. That's the flower maiden" _Hige said.

"_She's a flower and a maiden? That's weird" _Toboe said, looking at Cheza and Kiba's retreating forms.

"_I heard that the nobles that had too much time on their hands made her from flowers in a lab somewhere" _Hige explained.

They walked across a bridge, over a river. "_A human made from flowers? Give me a break, you really believe that?" _Tsume snorted.

"That's so strange. Who knew you could make girls from flowers?" Bri asked rhetorically, ignoring Tsume.

"_C'mon she's standing right there isn't she?" _Hige smiled.

"_Yeah and she smells wonderful as well. Like a flower" _Toboe sighed.

"_Smell or no smell, I don't trust any of this" _Tsume said.

Bri sighed, "Can you stop being suspicious for at least two minutes? Kiba trusts her and he doesn't seem the type to trust easily" Tsume growled at her.

_"Didn't your heart skip a beat too?" _Toboe asked Tsume.

"I agree with Bri. _I believe it and as crazy as it seems, Kiba led us to this place on pure instinct or whatever you wanna call it right? Even if it some big coincidence, at least it feels like we're finally one step closer" _Hige said truthfully.

"_It sure does" _Toboe said.

Tsume still glared warily at Cheza's back.

"_Well either way you look at it, she's really not my type at all. It's such a bummer" _Hige continued.

"Are you sure it's not coz Kiba's got his paws all over her and you don't wanna deal with the competition?" Bri said teasingly, causing the others to burst out laughing.

They kept walking, following Kiba and Cheza. They eventually made it to a ruined castle and started walking through it.

"_This one has been waiting for you" _Cheza told Kiba, her hand still in Kiba's and the other on her heart. "_This one was born right here, in this place for that reason"_

She stopped, letting go of Kiba's hand and running through an open room, its door missing. "_Everybody, this one's home!" _She exclaimed, her voice ringing like bells throughout the room. She stopped, staring at the abandoned lab in front of her. Kiba stood behind her.

"_Oh my, there is no one here anymore" _Cheza mumbled. "_They, they all withered and died"_

She bent her legs and hugged her knees, still standing on her feet. "_This one is the only one left" _She said, staring at the lab.

Suddenly gunfire was heard and Hige and Toboe ran in.

"_Kiba! We're in serious trouble. I smell humans all over the place"_ Hige exclaimed.

"_I think we're surrounded" _Toboe said.

Tsume ran in with Bri on his heels. He stopped and started glaring at Cheza's back. She whirled around, tears in her eyes and Tsume recoiled. Kiba stood in front of Cheza protectively.

"_No it wasn't here" _He said, answering Tsume's silent accusations.

"_C'mon guys! We don't have time for this. We have to escape" _Toboe yelled at the two.

"_What do you mean escape? We're surrounded! Where the hell are we supposed to go?" _Hige shouted, panicking.

Cheza stood up and started walking towards a shattered wall. Kiba ran up to her and held her hand.

"_Where are you going?" _Tsume shouted after him.

"_Didn't you hear what we said?" _Hige yelled.

The two just kept walking, not listening to them.

"_What do we do?" _Toboe asked worriedly.

_"We don't have much of a choice"_ Tsume growled and ran out.

"_Urgh, Kiba's lost it this time" _Hige complained and followed Tsume.

Bri followed the others while Toboe ran after Kiba and Cheza.

They ran out and split up, sneaking on the soldiers and attacking them, taking them by surprise. Bri paused at all the men, remembering that night in Moss. She shuddered and began feeling helpless again. "No. No. NO!" She screamed and supressed the urge to run away from the men.

She dodged the bullets they fired towards her and leapt, transforming into a wolf mid-leap and tearing out a soldier's throat, covering her muzzle in blood. She stopped, her mind reeling from her actions. Then she smiled and ran, happy that she wasn't afraid anymore.

She growled at the stunned soldiers that surrounded her and leapt, killing them instantly or leaving them mortally wounded. She turned back into a human and reached inside her boots, taking out two knifes. Holding them in her hands, she snuck up towards an unsuspecting group of soldiers and sliced two of their throats. The remaining soldier managed to hold her off for a bit with his own knife getting dangerously close to her leg. She quickly slit his throat.

The others turned around in shock and before they could start shooting at her, she had already stabbed them, causing herself to be covered with more blood. She met up with the others and they jumped away, looking for an escape route. They reached an open place and found themselves being pelted with bullets.

"_Man, look at all those guys!" _Hige exclaimed.

They ran forward, dodging more bullets. Bri felt like her body was on fire, her heart was racing and adrenaline rushed through her body. They managed to find Cheza, Toboe and Kiba who were being fired at by two soldiers. Tsume jumped into action, slicing their throats with his knife.

Hige started dusting of his hands, clapping them together in the process. They all leapt down, running towards Kiba. Bri rushed over to Cheza. She helped her up, smiling up at her and ruffled Toboe's hair, chuckling when he tried to slap her hands away.

"Are you two okay?" She asked them concernedly. The two shook their heads and she smiled wider.

"_We're totally screwed! They've got it completely blocked off!" _Hige exclaimed to Kiba.

"_What do you we do? If we left her here, we could've gotten away" _Tsume said, scorn in his voice.

Kiba whipped his head up and his eyes glinted dangerously, "_Forget it!" _He snarled at Tsume.

Bri shook her head. "God Tsume, you always have to bring shit up at the wrong time" Bri sighed, ignoring when Tsume growled at her.

More gunfire was heard and they all turned their heads. Bri felt tugging on her jacket and she turned, looking at Cheza. She held her hand and led her to a corridor. She followed her and told Toboe to get the others.

It was a narrow corridor with barely any light streaming in. Cheza and Bri stopped when they heard the others running after them. "_This way"_ Cheza said.

She and Bri started walking when Bri gasped in pain. She stopped and looked down at her leg. A nasty looking gash ran from her knee to mid-thigh. It bled quickly, running down her leg. Cheza gasped, tears in her eyes and moved to help her. Bri shook her head. "It's okay, I got this. Go with the others, I'll catch up" she told her, looking at Kiba. He nodded and grabbed Cheza's hand, the others following reluctantly.

Tsume stayed back. "I'm alright, go with the others" He shook his head. She sighed and looked back at the gash. She guessed the adrenaline had stopped her from focusing on the pain.

Fuck that human!" She pulled her bloodstained jacket off and ripped one of the sleeves off and placed her foot in larger hole. She pulled it up her leg and managed to make it stay there. She started limping after the others.

"You're taking forever. Here" Tsume said and picked her up, cradling her to his chest. She shouted at him to put her down but he ignored her. She started hitting his chest along with her protests but he growled at her.

She sat rigidly in his arms, blushing furiously. She desperately tried to stop, annoyed at her feelings and hormones that we're getting way out of control. She hated this, him having to carry her like she was a maiden-in-distress and she hated her feelings that were spiralling out of control.

They joined the others much too slowly for Bri's liking and demanded Tsume put her down but he just tightened his arms around her in irritation. She huffed in annoyance and Hige looked at them, silently laughing before remembering the situation on hand.

Kiba ran forward across a platform, killing a shooter before signalling for the others to come. They ran across and Bri noticed a blonde haired woman in a lab coat stare at Cheza, shocked. As soon as she saw the woman, she disappeared from sight as they ran back into semi-darkness.

Cheza ran forward, almost gliding as she led them to a closed chamber, huge tree roots covering the walls and ground.

"_What the hell?" _Hige yelled, staring at the chamber. They were completely trapped.

"_There's no use! There's no way we can get out of here!" _Toboe exclaimed, looking at the roots in despair.

"_We could always try surrendering" _Hige offered, "_I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" _He said, raising his hands up at Tsume's glare.

"Wait" Bri murmured, causing Tsume to look at her.

"Cheza" She breathed and Tsume snapped his head up just as Cheza called out "_This way"_

There was a tunnel in the middle of some roots and Cheza stood there, waiting for them to follow her.

"_Where did that giant hole come from?" _Toboe wondered.

Kiba started forward and joined Cheza in the tunnel. All of a sudden, a growling noise came and it sounded like the _tree_ had made it. Toboe flinched in fear.

"_The wall just moved!"_

_"Hey, I'm not complaining. Let's get out of here" _Hige said, following Kiba and Cheza. Toboe followed.

"Tsume, let's go" Bri said to him and Tsume nodded, running after the others, careful not to bump Bri in the walls of the narrow tunnel. Bri looked around Tsume's shoulder, her ears catching the noises of the soldiers running into the room.

She noticed that the hole had completely disappeared. She smiled and murmured, "Thank you Cheza's friends". Tsume stared at her in confusion but she didn't notice, instead she cuddled up closer to Tsume, ignoring her flushing face and smiled.

They ran along the tunnel and by the time they made it to the end, dusk was beginning to fall. They ran along the rocky cliff, Tsume still carrying Bri.

Cheza was behind them and when they reached a sharp turn she almost fell, turning sideways at Toboe's yell.

"_She can tell?"_

_"Well sure I guess, she's a Flower Maiden after all" _Hige told him.

"_Yeah but how?"_

_"She uses her antennae, how else?"_

_"She doesn't have any of them!" _Toboe said to him.

"_I know you can't see them or anything but I bet they're there"_

Toboe turned and looked at Cheza. "_I wonder why she's on edge, when she's around us I mean. Why?"_

_"Because you're all on edge around her, that's why" _Kiba interjected, turning to face them.

"_Who the hell wouldn't be on edge? She's not a human and she's not a wolf. Or even a flower. How are we ever supposed to trust something like that? And even more so because a noble created it" _Tsume snorted.

Bri frowned and twisted out of Tsume's arms, landing on her feet. She dodged Tsume's hands and limped over to Cheza and took her hand. "We're supposed to trust her. She's the one that's the key to Paradise right? She hasn't done anything to betray us and I bet she won't. I trust her for that" Bri smiled at Cheza, who smiled back and stroked Bri's hair.

The others looked at Bri, shocked at her open declaration and Tsume looked the most shocked. They started walking again and Bri helped Cheza down slowly, her leg starting to open again. Bri heard sniffling and looked up at Cheza, shocked to see tears falling down her cheeks.

"It's okay Cheza. I'm fine, don't worry about me. I'll be better by tomorrow I promise" Bri told her, placing her arm around Cheza, giving her a one-armed hug.

"This one is worried. Does it not hurt terribly?"

"I'm okay, I think the joy of meeting you and seeing you is helping me ignore the pain" Bri smiled at her.

"_So we're gonna take her with us?" _Tsume asked Kiba.

"_Yeah"_

_"What for?"_

_"Well, I don't see anything wrong with it. It would mean to leave her here and besides, I think it'd be kinda nice to have the smell of flowers all the time." _Toboe interjected.

"Plus I'd like to have another girl here. I'm surrounded by too much testosterone here" Bri laughed along with Cheza and Hige.

"_Isn't that exactly what makes her a danger to us?" _Tsume scathingly asked, causing Kiba to turn around. "_If she stinks up the place when we're walking around, its as good as giving away our location"_

_"A human sense of smell isn't that sensitive" _Kiba said.

"_My eyes tell me she's trouble. What good is she to us anyway?"_

_"_Tsume, do you seriously not list -" Bri interjected before getting cut off by Kiba,

"_Cheza is more important to us than anything else and if you're a wolf Tsume, you should know this" _

"_Sorry but I don't"_

_"She's gonna get us to Paradise" _Kiba snarled.

"_I'm so sick of hearing that word"_

Frustrated, Bri limped over to them and stood between them, her eyes blazing and growling deep in her throat. "SHUT THE FUCK UP! THE BOTH OF YOU! I'M SO SICK AND TIRED OF YOU ARGUING! CAN'T YOU LET IT REST FOR TEN MINUTES?!" She shouted at them.

They looked at her angrily and looked as though they were gonna say something when they interrupted by the sound of Cheza singing.

All of the wolves started getting drowsy and Toboe backed up into a wall, "_All of a sudden, I'm feeling really sleepy." _He murmured and lay on the ground.

Tsume stumbled towards a tree. "_Dammit Toboe, don't fall asleep!" _He growled at him

"_Too late. My body's already gone cold" _The pup murmured and fell asleep.

"_What's going on?" _Tsume asked Kiba.

"_I have no idea what's going on, I just…" _Kiba trailed off.

Tsume backed up against the large tree. He soon fell asleep. Bri was the last one to go under the spell and she fell next to Cheza, her head resting on a tree root.

The group dreamed different dreams, bewitched by Cheza's lullaby. Toboe dreamed of Granny, Hige dreamed about being surrounded by babes, Tsume about hunting, Kiba about the shaman that raised him and Bri dreamed about her old pack and being Tsume's mate.

They soon woke up from their sleep, Kiba and Bri first, then Toboe and Hige. Bri noticed that her leg was completely healed and only a faint line remained. Tsume stayed asleep for the longest and Bri smiled, having a feeling that she knew what he was dreaming about, judging by the way he mumbled the names of his parents and her parents and her name, over and over again.

They snuck into the nearby town, wary of the soldiers that roamed the streets. Bri managed to grab some new clothing to replace her bloodstained ones and food.

She met up with Hige and Toboe at the meeting point and laughed when she saw what they were holding. Toboe held a fur coat, saying he got it for Cheza in case she got cold and Hige held a pair of pink boots, saying that they were for Cheza's delicate feet.

Bri slipped into an alleyway and changed quickly into a pair of camouflage-printed shorts and a black camisole with a dark green sweater. She wiped her knifes on a strip of her old clothing and chucked them in the dumpster, walking back to the others.

Hige and Toboe were still arguing about their choices when they heard a rustling sound from a nearby alley. They stared at it before leaving, keeping their eyes and ears open.

As they walked they kept hearing the rustling sounds from behind them. "_I heard something from the cats here, they said that there's a ghost wandering around" _Toboe whispered to them.

"_Did you say a ghost?" _Hige asked, looking over his shoulder.

Toboe and Bri copied him, seeing an old woman with a walking stick. "_Is she following us?"_ Hige asked.

"_Yeah" _Toboe said.

They kept walking and gradually started running, the hairs on their necks standing straight and goosebumps appearing on their skin. They skidded into an alley and looked behind them. There was the old lady.

"_Run!" _Hige yelled fearfully. They ran towards the others, out of breath. "_Wow, that was rough" _Hige panted.

"_You _three _sure took a long time" _Kiba said.

"Here some food" Bri said, chucking him the food she and Hige managed to grab.

"_We picked up some other things as well" _Toboe said, walking over to Cheza with the coat.

"_What the hell do you plan to do with that?" _ Tsume asked him.

"_What do you think, it's a present" _Toboe told him and placed the coat gently on Cheza's shoulders.

Cheza looked upset at the present.

"_You don't like it huh?" _Toboe asked sadly.

"_Sure looks that way" _Kiba told him.

Hige placed the pink boots before Cheza, who looked at them and placed her feet in them. She got up and laughed.

"_You like them huh?" _

Cheza giggled and danced around, her laughter ringing like bells. She turned and looked in front, gasping and stopping.

"Cheza" Kiba and Bri whispered before turning to look at where Cheza was staring.

"It's that old woman again" Bri mumbled.

"_Who are you?" _Cheza asked.

The old woman started walking, her cane tapping on the forest floor. She kept walking and stopped when Kiba stood in front of Cheza.

"_You are wolves" _She murmured.

The others gasped but Kiba narrowed his eyes. "_Old lady, who are you?"_

The old woman took of her sunglasses and raised her eyes to look at them. They all gasped in shock, this woman had the same coloured eyes as Cheza.

"_Tell us, who are you?" _Kiba asked.

"_Hanambi tole* is what they called us" _The old woman said.

"_This one can tell from your scent but you're not like this one" _Cheza said softly.

"_That is true; you are not like my kind. You are a perfect creation" _

_"Perfect creation?"_ Kiba asked.

"_You must know, I have been waiting for you for a long time"_ The old lady said, addressing Cheza.

"_I guess she wasn't a ghost" _Toboe whispered to Hige.

Hige whipped his head to the side. "_That stench"_

_"It's them" _Said Kiba.

"_I got a feeling that we shouldn't hang around here any longer" _Tsume muttered, looking to the side.

The old woman and Cheza started moving quickly downhill, causing the others to follow.

"_Do you think its safe to go with her?" _Toboe asked.

"Too late pup, we already are" Bri told him.

"_If she's like Cheza, we shouldn't have to worry" _Hige said.

They followed them into a door, embedded in a hill of trees and flowers. They ran inside and the woman quickly shut the door. The woman sat on a stool and Cheza sat in front of her in a chair. The other wolves gathered around them, leaning on the walls except for Kiba, who stood next to Cheza.

The woman quickly started talking to Cheza, continuing their previous conversation. "_I felt them in my body, the terrible events that occurred and those Hanambi tole were the unfortunate and perfect ones, had no choice but to wither and die. I was fortunate enough to escape from the castle through the foot of the mountain. I stayed in hiding for a long, long time and before I knew it, I was left on my own. Even if you know nothing about yourself, I do. I know you very well indeed._

_"All this time, this one was been asleep and waiting, waiting just for him" _Cheza said, smiling at Kiba.

"_The wolf seeks out the flower and the flower seeks out the wolf. And yet, no matter how you feel, you must not go with them" _The woman told Cheza.

"_But why?"_ Cheza asked.

"_It will only lead to destruction" _

_"Are you crazy?!" _Kiba asked her in disbelief.

"_I'm not talking to you" _The old woman snapped at him.

"_C'mon Cheza, let's go" _

He looked surprised when Cheza didn't move from her chair, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"_The faintest scent of flower can offer is all I have left now. And soon, you too will fade completely." _The old lady continued.

"_What should this one do?" _Cheza asked her.

_"You have the ability to sustain me, the life of a Hanambi tole. Stay with me here" _

_"Cheza don't listen to her" _Kiba said, his voice rising.

"_Wolf, just what precisely do you hope to achieve by taking this precious girl with you?"_

_"To get to Paradise. We're going to Paradise" _Cheza said, causing the woman to look at her.

The atmosphere was thick and heavy, everybody on edge with this woman. Bri walked over to Cheza and sat next to her. She stared at Cheza, noticing that Cheza's expression thoughtful, torn between going with the wolves and staying with the old lady.

"_Shhh, be quiet" _Tsume whispered.

Toboe, Hige and Tsume peered out the window. The scientist was there, walking outside the cabin. "_I smelled her outside the castle and I know I've seen her before. But I don't know where" _Hige said.

"_Now what?" _Tsume asked Kiba.

"_Let's go" _He replied, looking down at Cheza, "_Cheza, let's go" _

Toboe, Hige and Tsume snuck out of the cabin and jumped to crouch on some tree branches. When the woman stepped beneath them, they jumped down which caused her to gasp.

"_You're those boys I saw earlier. What are you doing? What's going on" _she asked them.

Meanwhile, Bri, Cheza and Kiba snuck out and tried to walk. Cheza seemed reluctant to leave. They had barely made it away from the cabin when the woman turned around, spotting them.

"_Cheza" _She breathed, staring at the flower girl.

Kiba grabbed Cheza and leapt onto a ledge, transforming into a wolf when he landed for a split second. The woman had already seen his transformation and gasped. Bri joined him but kept her human form. The others joined them and Bri ran alongside Tsume.

They ran towards the town, Cheza looking back every so often in the direction of the cottage. When they reached it, Cheza started slowing down to a halt.

"_She's crying. Soon she will wither away" _

_"Do you mean the old lady?" _Kiba asked her.

"_Kiba, can this one stay with you? Is it alright if this one stays with you?"_

_"Cheza you have to stay with us" _Kiba replied. Cheza's eyes started to fill with tears and she turned to Hige.

"_Hige?" _She asked him.

He laughed, "_Sure why not? When you're on a journey, the more the merrier"_

_"Toboe?" _

The pup giggled and smiled.

"Bri?"

"Of course Cheza, its great to have you around" Bri told her, smiling.

"_Tsume?"_

He sighed. _"Fine you can tag along, if it gets us to where we're going I can put up with you"_

They joined the crowd in the main street, Kiba gently placing a pink coat over Cheza. The scientist was near them, searching for Cheza.

Bri glared at the men who looked at her hungrily and one tried to grab her but Tsume sneaked his arm around her waist. "She's mine!" He snarled, causing the man to cower away in fear.

Tsume kept his arm around Bri until they made it out of town. When he dropped his arm, Bri's flushing cheeks began to cool and she desperately wanted Tsume to put his arm around her again.

They walked back to the cabin and waited for Cheza. Tsume sulked and Bri stood next to him, silently laughing at his behaviour. When Cheza came out she had tears in her eyes but nobody asked her what was wrong. She held hands with Kiba, staring off at the distance together.

"_Did any of you tell her about Paradise?" _Tsume asked them.

"_I didn't" _Hige replied.

Toboe and Bri shook their heads when Tsume looked at them.

They simply shrugged and followed Kiba and Cheza, continuing their journey.

* * *

Whoop whoop! new chapter! :)

* - This is from the dubbed version. In the subbed I think it says 'flower man' or something like that. I just think this word makes it sound more exciting for some reason :D

Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes!

Anyway, review and favourite! Thanks to the people that have done either! Please don't be shy!

-Black :)


	5. The Forest of Death

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain, only Bri. I do not get any money from this ect._**

* * *

**_Chapter 5: The Forest of Death_**

* * *

They remained near the city, staying in the forest. They kept sneaking back into the city to steal food and provisions and to keep an eye on the soldiers.

They were roaming the streets one night when they spotted the wolf's hunter dog. The dog bristled at the sight of them, growling lowly.

"So he's here as well huh?" Bri murmured to Tsume.

Cheza stopped and walked to the dog.

"_We have a friend. He's in here"_

She skipped over to the dog, kneeling in front of it and outstretching her hand. Just when she was about the pet the dog, Kiba put his hand on her shoulder.

Cheza turned and looked at him, "_It is alright"_

_"You do not know what you are yet, is that right? There is some wolf inside of you too"_

The dog looked shocked and when Cheza reached to pet it, it backed away.

"_You were alone your whole life were you not?" _

She gazed into the dog's cobalt eyes, searching its depths.

Footsteps were heard on the other side of the door. Kiba gasped and pulled Cheza away, just getting around the corner as the soldiers and scientist came out.

They were staying at the local junkyard, taking refuge in an old bus. The bus was rusted and battered, with holes in the roof and sides.

"_This should be a perfect place to hide" _Said Hige excitedly.

_"Once we catch wind of what they're up to, we'll be right back" _Tsume said.

"_Cheza you stay here with Toboe _and Bri" Kiba told her.

"_Leave it to _us" Toboe replied excitedly.

Hige, Tsume and Kiba ran off, leaving the other three in the old bus. Toboe and Cheza sat on the ground while Bri lay down on one of the remaining seats.

"_I like this idea of friends waiting for other friends. It's a nice feeling" _Toboe chattered, staring up at the holes.

Cheza sat with her eyes closed, head tilted back and the sunlight beamed down onto her.

"_What is it?" _Toboe asked curiously.

"_This one is stuffed. And you?"_ Cheza opened her eyes, looking at Toboe.

"_Umm sure" _Toboe giggled.

"And you Bri?" Cheza asked.

"I'm fine" Bri replied, staring out on of the holes. Her mind was elsewhere, on the topic of a certain grey wolf.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about him. It didn't matter whether she was happy, angry or sad he always popped into her mind. She huffed in annoyance and turned to her side. _"_I hate him" She mumbled into the cushion.

Before they could ask her what she meant, they heard shouting from outside. Toboe rushed to the window and Bri joined Cheza on the ground, her stance defensive.

"_This way! Over here" _A soldier called.

"They're chasing these three kids" Toboe murmured to Bri and Cheza.

The soldiers voices eventually died away. Bri started drifting off to sleep but just as she was about to go under, the Kiba returned. Toboe and Cheza popped out from behind a couple of seats, hoping to surprise Kiba but it soon turned into an awkward silence when he didn't react.

"_What took you so long? Hey welcome back" _Toboe said, just as Hige returned.

"_How did it go?" _Kiba asked Hige

"_They've really got us surrounded this time. So we'll have to move at night" _Hige replied, smiling.

Kiba nodded and turned towards the others. "_There's a place not far from here that the humans call the Forest of Death"_

_"Forest of Death? That doesn't sound good" _Toboe shivered.

"_They say if you get lost in it, you never get out" _Kiba continued.

"Humans and their dramatics" Bri muttered.

Hige snorted, "_Big deal, with our noses it'll be a piece of cake. Am I right?" _

_"Right" _Kiba nodded, smiling.

Tsume walked in and Bri averted her eyes, cheeks turning pink. She groaned mentally, not knowing how she would survive talking to Tsume if her cheeks kept flushing.

"_How'd it go?" _Hige asked the others oblivious to Bri.

"_I found an escape route that will be perfect" _Tsume replied, having heard their plan.

"_Perfect. That settles it, we're leaving tonight" _Kiba replied.

"_All right! We can finally get out of here" _Toboe exclaimed.

Tsume came over and sat in the seat in front of Bri.

_"_You alright?" He asked, seeing she had turned the other way, her face in the seat.

_"_M'fine_" _She mumbled.

"I can't wait to get out of this stinking city" He muttered, "Can't stand all these soldiers and humans"

"Me neither" Bri replied, not really focusing on the conversation at hand.

"You sure you're okay shorty?" He asked her concernedly.

She just nodded her head and Tsume sighed before closing his eyes. She promised herself that she would try and act normal around Tsume from now own, for her sake and his.

Night came quickly and the others were getting ready to leave. They heard the soldiers staying near the bus, trying to be discreet.

"Change of plans, Hige and Tsume you get rid of the soldiers at their base and we will go and sneak through town. We'll meet up outside the Forest of Death" Kiba told them and everybody nodded.

They snuck through the town, careful to avoid the few soldiers remaining. They ran past and Bri noticed the wolf hunter some meters away from them, his eyes widening at the sight of Toboe.

Bri eyed the man warily and sighed in relief when he got distracted by his dog. She noticed that she had fallen behind and quickly caught up. They were near the Forest of Death, waiting for the others. Bri looked up, feeling the presence of Tsume and Hige above them.

"_Where are they?" _Toboe asked.

"_They're here" _Kiba replied.

"_Huh? Where?"_

The others landed behind them.

"_Sorry we're late" _Tsume said, not seeming sorry at all.

"_Operation successful" _Hige said, giving a thumbs up. He giggled and Bri looked upwards. She gasped just as a bullet was fired from above.

"Damn old man! I thought his dog would have delayed him for longer" She snarled as the others split up.

"_You damn wolves! You'll never fool me again!" _He yelled and fired another shot.

Bri was running, dodging the bullet he fired at her when she heard Cheza fall over. Kiba turned around and noticing that the hunter was aiming a shot at her, he ran over and stood over her protectively. The shot got fired and hit Kiba in the shoulder.

"_Kiba" _Cheza whispered.

The man moved to fire another shot but he was out of bullets. He cursed and fumbled to refill his rifle, giving Kiba and Cheza plenty of time to run into the Forest of Death.

They heard the man yell and fire shots into the air.

The Forest of Death was a forest filled with gnarled trees that stood high with their roots covering the ground. The trees blocked out every bit of sunlight, causing it to be quite dark under the thick canopy of tree branches.

"_Man this place is depressing" _Hige whined.

"It has a depressing name as well_" _Bri said.

_"I thought forests were supposed to be alive, you know?" _He continued, ignoring Bri.

"_It's called the Forest of Death remember?" _Toboe told him.

"_That's the reason the humans can't follow us in here" _Kiba interrupted.

"_well we don't have to rely on compasses or anything but still shouldn't there at least be some animals? You know like a rabbit or a fox?" _Hige asked.

"_Rabbit huh? In other words, you're hungry" _Toboe chuckled.

"_Sue me alright?"_ Hige grumbled.

"_We might come across a town once we reach the end of this forest. Just hang in there until then" _Kiba said softly.

"_If we make it out of here alive that is" _Tsume muttered, kicking a human skull.

Toboe yelped and stepped back before yelping again. A huge bug flew towards the air, its wings fluttering frantically.

It flew around them in circles before flying straight for Toboe, causing him to yell and close his eyes. Tsume caught the bug before it hit Toboe in the face.

"_There are plenty of bugs though"_ Tsume said, looking at the bug as it angrily chittered at him.

Toboe sighed in relief. "_Thanks Tsume"_

_"I've never seen a bug like this. Here" _Tsume said, holding it in front of Hige.

Hige groaned and stepped back.

"_Here. You're hungry aren't ya? Chow down" _Tsume asked, his face and voice devoid of any emotion

"_Why the hell should I?" _Hige asked, staring at the bug in disgust.

"_Because you have the strongest stomach right?" _Toboe asked.

"_Eat it" _Tsume said commandingly.

"_I ain't your taster. And how come you're giving me orders? You're not our leader on anything. Right?" _Hige said, looking around Tsume to look at Kiba.

Kiba only stared back. Hige grunted, looking around desperately.

He grabbed the bug off Tsume, "_I know let's give it to Cheza!" _He said excitedly. "_I bet you're hungry right?" _He held the bug in front of Cheza.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you" Bri told Hige, a smile on her face. He ignored her.

Kiba moved forward and slapped the bug out of Hige's hands, causing it to fall on the ground with a big cut on its neck.

"_Cheza does not eat bugs" _He growled.

"_Well then, what should we feed her?"_ Hige groused defensively.

"_This one doesn't eat, anything" _Cheza spoke for the first time.

"_Not a thing?" _Hige asked, leaning forward.

"_Now that you mention it, I've never seen her eat a thing" _Tsume said from behind them.

"_She drank that water that one time" _Toboe said, turning towards Tsume.

"_This one drinks and basks" _Cheza replied.

"_Basks in what?" _Kiba asked and Cheza closed her eyes, tilting her head to the sky. "_But not here" _

"I get it" Bri whispered.

The others minus Kiba and Cheza turned to look at her.

"What?" Hige asked her.

"_Oh I get it. Sunlight_" Toboe murmured.

"_Makes sense. She is a flower" _Hige mumbled.

They kept walking, making light conversation when Toboe lurched forward, and clutching his ankle.

They stopped to rest and Kiba looked at Toboe's ankle. Bri sat next to Toboe and placed her hand gently on his shoulder, worried that he had sprained it.

"_Well it's not sprained" _Kiba said and Bri sighed a breath of relief.

"_He can't even handle this little forest. Like I always say, you can't take city kids to the woods" _Hige said nonchalantly.

"Like you're any better when there's no food around" Bri told him and the two proceeded to bicker.

"_Do you think you can walk on it?"_ Kiba asked Toboe, ignoring the two arguing.

Toboe nodded and stood up. _"I'm okay, I can walk just fine_" He fell back with a wince.

"_Cheza?"_ Hige asked as she knelt next to Kiba.

She rubbed her hand over Toboe's ankle and smiled at him.

"_Wow thanks Cheza" _Toboe murmured.

"_Does that feel good?" _Hige asked

"_Mmhm, real good. The pain is just melting away" _Toboe replied.

Meanwhile Tsume had wandered off on his own; his thoughts occupied by a certain someone.

He had tried to stay calm and normal around her but whenever she stood next to him, his thoughts and emotions would whirl around him in a frenzied state. He would try and focus on the conversation but he kept thinking about how nice it would be to kiss her, to nuzzle her and cuddle with her. He shook his head, trying to get the sickening sweet thoughts out of his head but to no avail.

"She probably doesn't even like me that way" he muttered to himself.

"What are you mumbling about? A way to kill Hige and eat him?" Bri asked from behind him, laughing.

He found himself staring at her in wonder and turned his head when she looked at him questioningly.

"What?" She asked him.

"Nothing" He replied, turning to look at the others when he heard Toboe giggle.

He stared at the sight of Hige being patted on the head like a dog. He didn't notice that Bri was staring at him, her expression happy and pained at the same time.

"_C'mon _you guys, _let Cheza pat you as well. It feels unbelievable" _Toboe called over to them and Bri jolted, her mind being brought back to the present.

She nodded and walked over, letting herself enjoy the warm feeling it gave her. It was slightly dampened by her thoughts of Tsume but she shoved them to the back of her mind. She smiled at Cheza.

They kept walking after a while, their footsteps echoing throughout the gloomy forest.

"_This forest ain't so bad once you get used to it. Nothing to fight over and the best part is that there is no humans around. We've got it all to ourselves" _Hige said happily.

Bri just looked at him, her expression saying 'No shit Sherlock" but Hige ignored her, like always whenever she gave him a look or insulted him.

"_Yeah and there's plenty of bugs we can eat" _Toboe replied.

"_Hah fat chance pal" _Hige said, sticking his nose in the air.

"_Then you better not complain when we don't share them with you" _Tsume said, staring in front of him.

"_I'll say it again, who the hell died and made you the leader?" _Hige yelled at him angrily.

"_Neither one of us is the leader, Hige. Ours just isn't the type of pack that has one" _Kiba replied from in behind them.

"_What kind of pack are we then?" _ Tsume asked, turning to look at Kiba.

"Tsume drop it" Bri whispered, placing a hand on his arm. He whirled to look at her, eyes blazing at her. He turned back to Kiba and still held his angry stance.

"_C'mon guys, it doesn't really matter does it? I know! When we all finally make it out of here, what's the very first thing you wanna do?" _Toboe asked, causing the others to look at him in disbelief.

"_What do you think?"_ Hige asked.

"_Eat as much as I can" _Tsume said.

"_Eat and sleep" _Kiba replied.

"Shower and all of the above" Bri said.

Toboe's stomach gurgled. "_Ah I guess you're right" _

_"You moron, isn't it obvious?" _Hige teased Toboe.

Cheza was breathing heavily and fell back onto Kiba, causing everybody to look at her in alarm and concern.

"_You must be exhausted. We'll rest a while" _Kiba told her.

"_It is alright, this one is fine" _Cheza whispered, smiling weakly.

"_A bird!" _Hige cried out.

"_Where?" _Toboe asked.

"_It's the Forest of Death, you must be seeing things" _Tsume rumbled.

"_No, I'm sure I heard the flapping of wings above us. It was from an owl. Which means we got meat!" _Hige exclaimed, running away.

"_Hey Hige! Get back here!" _Tsume barked at him but to no avail.

"Idiot, only thinking about his stomach" Bri sighed.

"_Damn it, stay here" _Tsume said to Toboe.

Bri and Toboe joined Kiba and Cheza, Bri looking concernedly at Cheza. She whined and held Cheza's hand. She smiled back before she started panting heavily, turning paler by the minute and small roots creeping up her face.

Toboe howled and soon the others came running back. "_What's going on?" _Tsume asked.

"_Its Cheza, all of a sudden she just.." _Toboe trailed off.

Tsume came to kneel next to Bri, staring at Cheza.

"_What is that? Is she withering?" _Tsume asked.

"_She needs water, even sunlight will do" _Kiba barked at Tsume.

"_But there isn't any, the woods are too thick. And the ground, it's too dry. We'll never find any water out here" _Tsume said.

Kiba placed a hand on Tsume's shoulder. "_We have too" _He told Tsume, his eyes burning. "_We still have to try"_

Kiba picked up Cheza, carrying her piggy-back style and they moved on.

"_Which way?" _Toboe asked when they reached a fork in the path.

"_I say right" _Hige replied, sniffing the air.

"_Hige, do you smell any water there?" _Kiba asked.

"_No not a drop. But just standing here isn't helping us" _Hige said.

"_Here isn't helping, here isn't helping!" _A voice called from above and they looked up, startled. It was an owl with wide sapphire-coloured eyes.

"_Damn thing came back" _Tsume growled.

"_It can't be helped if there's no light, it can't be helped if there's no water, it can't be helped if the flower is withering" _The owl said.

"_What did you say?!" _Kiba yelled at it.

"_Wait a minute, that owl probably lives here in this forest right? And if he does, don't you think he'll know where we can find water?" _Toboe asked, smiling excitedly.

"_Alright tell us, where's the closet place around here that has water?" _Kiba asked the owl.

The owl simply tilted its head at them.

"_Stupid bird! Cut the theatrics and spill it!" _Hige yelled at the owl.

"_Do you live here in this forest or not?" _Kiba asked, "_If you do then tell us! She has to have water now!"_

_"Kiba…Kiba…Kiba, who are you talking too?" _Cheza murmured.

"_To an owl Cheza" _He replied.

"_An owl?" _

_"Hoo" _The owl said.

"_C'mon! Isn't there any water in this forest?" _Kiba asked, his patience nearing its breaking point.

"_Go astray, go astray my good wolves. Answers always lie in confusion"_

The owl started to fly away and Bri growled in frustration. "Stop it with the dammed riddles already you annoying bird!"

"_We can't let it get away" _Tsume said as they started running after it, "_Dammit; he's the only lead we got"_

_"You will never find what you are looking for, if the searcher was too find what he searched for it would become a mere object" _The owl's words echoed around them but they could still see him. They followed him to the outside of a cave.

"_Hoo, the answer lies within the darkness, the answer lies within confined spaces. Only those who bravely enter will be rewarded" _The owl continued.

"_Another riddle?" _Toboe asked.

"_Bird brains want us to go inside the cave" _Hige replied.

"_So does that mean there's water inside?"_

_"How should I know?" _Tsume replied.

Kiba had already started walking towards the cave.

"_Hey don't go in there! Are you gonna believe what some old owl tells you? This whole thing stinks" _Hige exclaimed, grabbing Kiba's shoulder.

"_You tell me where we can find water then. Can you do that Hige?" _Kiba growled back.

Hige looked slightly hurt at his words.

"_At this point we don't have any other choice" _ Kiba continued and walked into the cave, the others following reluctantly.

They walked through the darkness, unsure of where they were going.

"_We saw this thing a while ago didn't we?" _Hige asked.

"_You mean we've been going in circles?" _Toboe whined.

"_Stupid place is like a maze" _Tsume said, "_And to make matters worse, it all looks the same"_

_"We went left last time" _Kiba replied and started walking before tripping on a rock and nearly falling over, "_Damm it all" _

_"Just take it easy, will ya?" _Tsume snapped at him.

"_Kiba you're just tired, do you want me to carry her?" _Toboe asked.

"_Why? Do you think you can carry her? Do you think you can carry her?! Answer me!" _Kiba yelled at him. "_I'm fine so walk. We don't have time to take a rest!"_

"Kiba! Calm down and stop yelling like you're PMSing alright? The kid's trying to be nice and you're lashing out at him" Bri said, trying to calm him down.

"Shut up bitch" He snarled at her causing Tsume to growl at him.

"_Would you cut the crap? We can't trust your nose anymore, the scent of flowers has screwed it up" _

_"My nose is fine" _Kiba snapped at him.

"_Kiba…put Cheza down" _

_"Tsume, do you still not trust her?" _

_"With the way you've been acting, it's you we can't trust. As leader of a pack, you have to be calm and detached. And right now you don't have that. It's impossible to be right all the time you know?"_

_"Stay out of my way"_

The two males started growling at each other.

"_Is that a threat?" _Tsume snapped.

"_Guys cut it out" _Toboe said, stepping on something. He looked down and saw the skeleton of an animal.

"_It looks like…wait could this be an owl?" _He asked.

Suddenly the skeleton broke apart and a giant pill bug squirmed out and latched itself onto Hige's leg. He shook his leg and the bug hit a rock, squealing and curling into a ball.

The bug's squeal caused more bugs to pop out.

"_There's a million of them" _Toboe exclaimed fearfully.

One bug launched itself towards Tsume's face but he whacked it away to the ground. Cheza gasped and Toboe pulled the bug off her back, stepping on it.

More bugs launched at them and they started hitting them away, killing them almost instantly.

"_Kiba! Up here!" _Tsume called from a ledge.

"_Tsume!" _Kiba yelled, throwing Cheza up to him.

Tsume caught her and placed her gently on the ground.

"_Ts…ume" _Cheza whispered, placing her hand on his scar.

"_Leave it to us" _He told her.

He jumped down and joined the others. "_Are wolves gonna lose to a bunch of bugs?" _

"No way in hell_" _Bri smirked.

"_But I must say, we both like hanging around flowers" _Toboe said.

"_Nicely said Runt" _Hige laughed.

"_Here they come" _Kiba replied.

They all launched themselves at the bugs, ripping and biting the bugs. The bugs caused some damage to the wolves but nothing they couldn't handle. Bri paired up with Tsume and they bit their way through the swarm of bugs, the bug's blood staining their muzzles. They gave each other identical smirks, ignoring how both of them blushed slightly.

"_Wait, we'll all go together. This one can be useful too" _

And with those words Cheza plunged down from her ledge. The bugs started attacking her with frenzy.

"_Cheza!" _The wolves cried in sync.

She started running forward, bugs hanging onto her.

"_This way"_ She whispered, falling downhill with some bugs.

"_Cheza!" _Kiba cried.

They followed her down and saw her lying down, a bug near her foot.

"_Cheza!" _Kiba yelled, lurching forward.

"_No wait" _Tsume said, placing his hand on Kiba's arm.

The bug sniffed at Cheza before turning around, heading towards a plant that had its 'mouth' wide open.

Some had their 'mouths' closed, bugs struggling to get out before dying.

"_Cheza" _Kiba whispered, placing his hand on Cheza's cheek.

"_Don't worry this one is fine" _She said smiling.

"_Thank goodness" _Kiba replied.

"_This one heard them, they said they were hungry"_

_"They're plants that eat bugs huh?" _Tsume asked.

"_I guess this means we were saved by Cheza's friends" _Hige said.

"The whole world's gone topsy-turvey huh?" Bri asked, wiping blood away from her face.

"_Hey guys! I see light! It's the way out!" _Toboe yelled, pointing.

They all ran and were greeted with an amazing sight.

"_There's water! And check it out there's moonlight as well" _Toboe shouted happily.

Toboe, Hige, Tsume and Bri ran towards the water, diving in. They fooled around and splashed each other, laughing and smiling.

Cheza stepped into the lake and the moonlight seemed to shine on her, causing her to glow brightly. They all stared at her, enchanted at the sight.

"She's beautiful" Bri whispered, unconsciously leaning into Tsume's chest.

"Yeah" He murmured but he was staring at Bri, drinking in the sight of her twinkling eyes and awed expression.

"Yeah" He mumbled again and wound his arms tighter around her, causing her to blush.

They all got out of water after some time and fell asleep, surrounding Cheza. Tsume and Bri lay together, quite close to one another causing the others to smirk at them. But they took no notice, instead whispering memories of their childhood together to one another.

Bri was giddy inside with happiness. Maybe, just maybe, Tsume liked her that way too? A smile was permanently stuck on her face. She was happier than she could ever remember being.

They eventually fell asleep, Cheza patting them and smiling up at the moon.

When they woke up, they started walking away from the lake. By midday, they had reached a small town amidst dust and rocks.

The town looked deserted like any other down and all they could see were men standing outside, looking warily at the newcomers. Until they caught sight of the girls.

Bri and Cheza walked forward, talking to one another. They laughed and smiled. The men started wolf-whistling at them and the girls ignored them, continuing their conversation.

"_Man, what a seedy looking town" _Hige exclaimed, laughing.

"_It's my kind of place" _Tsume replied.

"_I bet it is" _Kiba replied, smiling.

"_Smell the danger in the air, my blood's on fire" _

"_Me too, me too!" _Toboe exclaimed, showing his skinny arm.

Hige caught him in a headlock. "_Big talk for someone who's scared all the time. But that's not the reason why you're so fired up is it runt? For one thing tonight's…"_

_"Yeah, it's a full moon" _Kiba said.

Toboe managed to escape from Hige's grip. "_I know it's like that for us coz we get our strength from the full moon but what about Cheza? She looks like she's glowing too" _

The guys looked at the two girls backs, smiling.

"_Yeah, once a night on a full moon the flowers will hear the moon's call and in return to Paradise" _Kiba said, "_That's a legend I heard once"_

_"So, tonight you mean she'll…?" _Tsume asked, trailing off.

"_I'm not sure if it's tonight, we'll just have to wait a see"_

_"What? What's gonna happen?" _Toboe asked.

"_You're not saying Cheza's gonna bloom or something are you?" _Hige asked.

Cheza turned around, "_This one is excited too!" _

_"_I can make you more excited sweetheart" One guy called, walking towards them.

"Back off prick" Bri growled.

"Maybe I could get you excited baby doll"

"Or maybe I could do this" Bri snapped and lifted her foot, kicking the guy where the sun doesn't shine, hard.

"Don't call me baby doll. And we don't associate with scum like you" She snarled. "C'mon Cheza" She said, grabbing her hand.

The other guys were laughing at the scene. "You shouldn't have done that man, she's a spitfire" Hige called to him as they walked away.

As night began falling down, they found a secluded lake and Cheza stepped in, lifting her head to the full moon.

"_This is it" _Tsume said.

"_Yeah, right about now I feel like I could do anything" _Hige exclaimed.

"_We've all seen a full moon before but coz Cheza's here with us it seems different doesn't it? _Toboe asked.

"_Oh man I just wanna howl my head off_!" Tsume yelled, raising his arms into the sky.

"_Something's about to happen" _Kiba said, staring at Cheza.

Cheza started spinning in the water and the wolves ran around her in one huge circle.

They raised their heads to the sky, howling at the moon. Tsume was the lowest, Toboe the loudest and Bri the highest, her voice a twinkling soprano. They howled in unison until their voices started cracking.

They stopped after a while and just sat there, staring at the moon with Cheza.

Suddenly something happened and the ground beneath their feet started blooming with white flowers. Lunar flowers.

It led a pathway that went all the way to the rising sun and beyond. They stared at it in amazement.

"_It's the path to Paradise" _Hige whispered.

"_Is that really what it is?" _Tsume asked.

"_Amazing! It's amazing!" _Toboe cried out, eyes twinkling in the glow of the flowers.

Cheza started running along the path and the wolves followed her. They ran for ages, their paws kicking up some of the Lunar petals.

Suddenly, the sound of whirring filled the air and they looked to the sky, spotting a noble's ship. They all gasped when it landed close to them, Cheza's gasp the loudest.

* * *

Mild cliffie there! Hahaha :) So I'm on fire with this story! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it really made my (almost nonexistent) day!

So a bit of fluff here between the two wolves here. And some swearing and violence as well. I really do spoil you guys huh? :P

Anyway hope you enjoyed it and please favourite/review! I would love to know your thoughts!

-A very hyper Black who should be getting to bed :)


	6. Murmurs of the Wind

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain, only my OC Bri_**

* * *

**_Chapter 6: Murmurs of the Wind_**

* * *

The ship door opened slowly, adding to the suspense that hung around them. The wolves all looked suspicious and wary and Cheza looked scared. The door finally opened, revealing a tall man with long dark hair and a blue eye, the other hidden by an eye patch.

"_The wolves…it's been a long time" _He said the silkiest of all voices.

"_That stench, he's a noble?"_ Tsume asked.

"_What are you doing here?" _Kiba snarled.

"_Was your little dream pleasant? The one where you were going to Paradise?" _The man asked, walking towards them.

"_What?" _Kiba asked in disbelief.

"_The time has not yet come for that, return to me Cheza" _He said, causing the girl to step back, shaking her head fearfully.

"_Get out of our way!" _Kiba snarled, running at the man as a wolf.

"_It is futile" _The man said and suddenly Kiba hit an unknown force, causing him to be blown back but he luckily landed on his feet.

A laser was fired from the ship, right at Kiba. He jumped out of the way and the resulting light blinded everybody.

Toboe just managed to clear his eyes from the blinding light when a laser was fired at him. He didn't manage to move quickly enough and got blasted into the air by the laser, landing a couple of meters away.

"_Toboe!"_ Hige yelled, running towards Toboe. A second laser came and hit Hige, causing him to fall onto the ground near Toboe, blood staining his fur.

Cheza stumbled and with tears running down her cheeks, she let out an unearthly cry.

"_Ahh the blood of the wolves. How magnificent" _The unknown man said, smiling.

Bri, Tsume and Kiba ran towards the man angrily. The ship fired another laser and they dodged the laser but it came back from behind, hitting Tsume.

"Tsume!" Bri cried. She growled at the man and started running with Kiba towards the ship, dodging the lasers.

The laser exploded and caused them to sail into the air and fall to the ground. Bri just managed to land on her feet, blood dripping onto the ground as she swayed.

"Kiba…you alright?" She slurred, her head spinning.

He growled at the unknown man and slowly got up, only to be blasted by another laser. Bri managed to dodge it and ran with all her strength, launching herself at the man. She managed to dodge the laser that the ship spat at her and she tried to bit the man's arm.

The man grinned at her sadistically and a laser hit her, sending her backwards. She hit the ground hard, more wounds covering her.

Kiba got up one more time and stood there for a while before a laser sent him backwards, so he was lying near Cheza.

Bri stumbled to get up, like a newly born deer but she stayed standing. She snarled low in her throat, her blood matting her brown fur.

"_That is enough" _Cheza spoke from behind.

She started walking towards the man, walking past Bri. She whined and tried to grab Cheza's coat to stop her but Cheza smiled gently and patted her. "_It is alright, this one will be fine"_

"No it won't be Cheza. Please…stay" Bri pleaded but Cheza shook her head and continued to walk.

She stopped in front of Kiba, who had managed to pull himself to his paws. "_Don't go" _He said, shaking with the effort of standing.

Cheza knelt down and placed her arms around Kiba's neck. "_Don't go"_

_"It is alright" _Cheza whispered.

"_Don't go Cheza. We're wolves, we're not afraid to die"_

_"This one knows that. This one has decided, it's alright. Kiba, this one will surely protect you" _

"_Che-za" _Kiba whimpered, collapsing to the ground.

Cheza got up and patted the other wolves as well. She took her time with each and reluctantly got into the ship.

"_Che-za" _Kiba whispered before allowing the darkness to consume him, like it had with the others.

Morning came and the wolves reluctantly moved back into the city, bloodied and worse for wear then they ever had been. They found an empty warehouse and drifted off to sleep again, their wounds healing slowly.

By the time Kiba had woken up, so had the others, looking as miserable as they felt.

"_C'mon guys, I know we've been through a lot by why all the moping?" _Hige asked in a desperate attempt to cheer everyone up.

"_I couldn't sleep, that's why" _Toboe said.

"_Yeah well, neither could I" _Hige shot back.

"_You slept like a dead man as always" _Tsume retorted.

"_Look I'm just as shocked and frustrated as the rest of you but none of that is gonna help us figure out what the hell we do now. Are we gonna live in a stupor for the rest of our lives?" _Hige asked, voice rising, "_Somebody say something dammit! Kiba, you haven't said a single word to any of us since everything happened"_

_"Drop it" _Tsume warned.

"_Just leave it alone, remember Kiba _and Bri _were hurt the worst" _Toboe said.

"_It's not that, it's just I'm really pissed off" _Kiba said, eyes narrowing.

"We all are, I think it's natural to be pissed off" Bri replied, staring at the ceiling.

"_Get her! She's getting away" _They lifted their heads to look at the doorway as they heard shouts from outside and the sounds of somebody running.

A black dog bounded into the warehouse, startling everybody. It was that wolf hunter's dog that apparently had some wolf in her.

A young woman replaced the wolf-dog. She had tanned skin, short dark blue hair and electric blue eyes. She wore a red scarf around her neck, a long coat that covered most of her skirt and thigh high boots.

"_Wow, what a babe" _Hige murmured, staring at the girl. Bri smacked him on the back of his head. "Pig" She muttered at him as he rubbed his head, shooing her dirty looks.

"_She's got friends" _A man walked in, flanked by two other males. Humans.

Bri wrinkled her nose in disgust. No wonder that girl wanted to get away, who would want to be with the likes of these pricks?

The girl whirled around but Hige stepped in front of her. "_Yeah so what's it to you?" _He asked.

"_Hand over the girl" _

_"Why should we?" _Hige asked the human.

"_She's our merchandise" _He replied, causing Bri to give disgusted sound.

"Merchandise? You're pathetic" Bri hissed at them.

"Looks like we found another prize, boys" The first male said, smirking at Bri.

Tsume stood next to Bri, growling lowly in his throat.

The first man motioned his head towards his flunkies. "_You kids aren't from around here, aren't ya?" _

_"So what if we aren't?" _Hige asked, eyeing the men suspiciously.

"_There's a big demand for young bodies in this town" _One of the flunkies said, smiling.

"_A lot of people pay top dollar for healthy organs" _The other one whispered, closing in on them.

The first flunkie ran, brandishing his weapon at Bri and Tsume. They dodged and the man whirled at Tsume, who was rolling his neck.

"_You don't expect us to give up our bodies do ya?" _Tsume asked, dodging the man's blows.

The other men lurched forward, the main man trying to get Blue but getting hit in the side by Hige and the second flunkie got knocked to the ground by Kiba, who placed his foot on the man's shoulder.

The man widened his eyes at the sight of a wolf staring down at him, instead of Kiba. He looked around and saw his comrades being pinned down by Hige and Tsume in a similar way.

"_Am I going crazy? It's a curse, it's the curse of the House of Darcia" _He mumbled, sweating bullets.

Kiba snarled and snapped his jaws close to the man's face, causing him to close his eyes tightly. When nothing happened, he tentatively opened his eyes and saw Kiba's sharp canines' inches from his face. Kiba got off the man and ran, the man's screams echoing after them.

They made it to a junkyard and burst out laughing. "_Did you see that stupid look on their faces?" _Tsume laughed.

"_I know, that felt terrific" _Toboe said gleefully. "_Hey Kiba are you alright?" _

"_Yeah" _Kiba said, smiling at the runt.

"_Hey are __**you**__ alright?" _Hige asked the girl.

"_Yeah. Thanks for helping me" _She replied.

"_We didn't do it for you, you know. Those idiots just happened to catch us in a bad mood that's all" _Tsume interrupted.

"_She was just thanking us, why do you have to be so harsh? It's not like we run into girls every day" _Hige said defensively and purposely ignored Bri's glare. "_By the way, I'm Hige" _ He told the girl.

"_My name is…its Blue. It's been a while huh?" _she asked, facing Kiba and Tsume.

"_Huh? You guys know each other?" _Hige asked.

"_You could say that" _Kiba replied.

"_You did some pretty nasty things to us when you with that human" _Tsume growls.

"_That old guy, where is he?" _Toboe asked Blue.

"_Something happened and we were split up" _She sighed softly.

"_He was still tracking us in the last city we were in" _Kiba told her.

"_I know. That's why he was there. Pop's will track down a wolf to the ends of the Earth" _She whispered.

"_I don't get it, aren't you a wolf too?" _Toboe asked her.

"_Hey isn't that girl with you anymore? You know the one that you were travelling with? She had a really strange scent"_

_"A girl? You mean Cheza?" _Toboe asked.

"_Cheza" _Blue says and suddenly the atmosphere turns tense.

"_Oh that, we'll let's just say we shouldn't talk about that now" _Hige mutters nervously, "_I know, why don't we go look for some food? I mean we did just bump into each other and there's a whole lot of danger for a girl on her own" _

_"Smooth" _Bri sniggers when Tsume glares at Hige.

"_Not a chance, Porky" _

_"Why not?"_

_"As if I would hang with her, she was doing everything to hunt us down" _

_"Yeah but…"_

_"You know you're only saying that because it didn't happen to you right?" _Toboe interrupts

Blue laughs from behind them, "_Forget it, I don't wanna hang around with a bunch of kids anyway. See ya around" _And with that she walks off.

"_Hey! Grr aren't you guys being a little cold? Hey wait, it's dangerous" _Hige yells and runs after her.

"_But Hige" _Toboe exclaims.

"Let him go runt, he's intoxicated by her" Bri tells Toboe.

"_His tail wags whenever there's a girl around" _Tsume grunts, sitting down.

"_When we were back in that city, she found out she was half-wolf. Cheza told her" _Kiba says, staring at the direction where Hige and Blue left.

"_Half-wolf?" _Toboe asked.

"_That side of her must have woken up, after Cheza" _Kiba continues.

"_Cheza. What do you think she's okay? What do you think she's doing?" _Toboe murmurs.

_"_She better be okay pup, or I'll hunt that noble's ass down" Bri said, ruffling Toboe's hair and laughing when he tried to push her away.

Dusk began to fall and Hige still hadn't returned.

"_I wonder where Hige went" _Toboe whispered.

"_Once he gets dumped, he'll come sulking back" _Tsume replied. Bri was lying next to him, eyes staring at the sky.

Toboe stood up, "_I'm gonna go look for him, just take it easy until I come back" _

"_That's the same crest from the castle where Cheza was held" _Kiba said.

"_This area must still be part of this noble's area" _Tsume replied.

"_The curse of the House of Darcia huh?" _Kiba whispered.

"_What?" _Tsume asked.

"_That's what the guy back there said when he saw us" _

"_Humans have always seen wolves that way. That's why they're so scared of us. Why didn't you jump at that guy? I would have expected you to take the chance to rip those humans to pieces"_

_"_It's not coz of your injuries is it?" Bri asked worriedly.

"_Even if I had killed him, I doubt he would have tasted that good" _Kiba replied.

"_Can't argue with that" _Tsume smirked.

Suddenly they felt the presence of humans around them and stood up, several humans standing around them pointing guns at them. The men from the morning were there as well.

"_Well lookey here, we got ourselves a couple of wolves. Jaguara's people will pay us a small fortune for you" _The man from earlier said, cocking his gun.

"_Jaguara?" _Tsume asked but his voice was drowned out by the man's gun being fired.

They ran off, losing the humans and made their way outside the junkyard to the outside of the city. They stopped next to a yellow caravan. Tsume slowed down.

"_Are you okay?" _Kiba asked worriedly.

"_I'm fine, the bullet only grazed my arm" _Tsume replied.

"_Let me see" _Bri murmured, prying Tsume's hand from his wound. It has bleeding heavily but it didn't seem horrible. She pressed his hand back to the wound, trying to ignore how he stared at her intently.

"_Are you kids okay?" _An elderly voice called from behind them. They turned around and saw an old woman, looking at them worriedly.

The sound of somebody cocking their gun was heard and an old man stood in the doorway of the caravan. _ "Elmira, you come over here now" _He said, staring at the three wolves.

"_We have no intention of hurting either one of you" _Kiba explained, holding his hands in the air, palms facing the darkening sky.

"_Oh for heaven's sake dear put the gun down. They're only children" _Elmira pleaded with her husband.

"_Don't be stupid, they're strays and they're dangerous" _He snapped at her.

"_What are you talking about? Have you lost your senses?_

"_Elmira, I may be old but I am not going senile. Take a close look at those _three" He yelled at her.

"_Oh crap!" _Hige's voice came from behind them. They stopped but Blue morphed and ran to the old man who fired at her. She came to sit in front of him, pinning him down with her blue eyes.

"_We are not going to do anything to you so just leave us alone" _Kiba said to the old man, authority leaking in his voice, "_I don't wanna fight if there's no reason to, I don't wanna kill"_

_"Did you see the wolves?! Search over there!" _A voice shouted from the distance.

"Shit, trouble's coming" Bri murmured to Tsume who nodded.

"_Those people wanna capture us and sell us to the highest bidder, it's up to you whether we can avoid bloodshed" _He told the old man, who looked conflicted.

The old man eventually gave in and they got Toboe and Hige to lie on the ground while the old man shot near them, making it seem like they had been killed. The others hid inside the trailer.

"_Did you kill them?"_ Asked the first man when they came running.

"_Stop it! That's enough" _Elmira yelled at her husband when he pointed the gun at the men.

"_They cast a spell on me" _He told her angrily.

The two kept arguing causing the first man to spit. "_Dammit, those things are worthless if they're dead" _And with that they walked away and the others came out.

Elmira gave them meat which they ate gratefully and Blue was sitting next to the man who patted her.

"_I hope you can forgive my husband, thinking that you're wolves" _Elmira told the group, "_He's starting to get more and more confused lately, that's why he came out here on this little jot. Let's spend our days on the road he said and here we are. This trailer is our home as well as our coffin"_

The group turned to look at Elmira who continued with her story, "_But we've seen such horrible things, that castle of the Darcia's to the west from here must have been beautiful once but now it's nothing but a giant grave"_

_"The castle of the Darcia's" _Kiba breathed.

"_It's as if everything in this world has given up its desire to live" _Elmira said sadly.

"_No it hasn't" _Kiba replied sharply, causing her to look at him. "_The old man isn't confused at all, he's right. We are wolves"_

_"You ready to go?" _Hige asked Toboe who nodded.

Blue stood up, now in her human disguise. "_Goodbye mister, take care" _

"_Where are you going to go?" _The old man asked.

"_To the castle in the west" _Kiba replied and they ran off.

The next day came and the group was back in the city, looking at the direction where Cheza left with the Darcia person.

"_They went that way right?"_ Toboe asked.

"_They sure did" _Hige replied.

"_Are we going?"_

_"Well we have to" _Hige said.

Tsume looked at them from where he stood with Bri. He looked at Kiba, who stared at the distance. Bri looked at him and smiled softly, Tsume was starting to care for this pack wether he liked it or not.

"_So where are you guys headed?" _Blue asked Hige.

"_We're all headed to Paradise" _Hige replied.

"_Paradise?"_

_"It's something every wolf has to try and do"_

_"Oh right, to find Paradise" _Blue whispered.

"_You're gonna come with us right? Aren't you Blue?"_

_"It sounds tempting but I can't"_

_"Well then I'm not going either" _Hige replied.

"_Hige" _Blue whispered.

"_You know, you'd probably be better off if you stayed with the humans. Its not too late to go back" _Kiba said.

"_What the hell are you saying Kiba?" _Hige exclaimed.

"_I have no intention of going back. I can never return to the way I was before. Not now" _

"_Blue" _Hige mumbled.

"_I just, I need to find out what I really am"_

_"Well then the only thing you can do is move forward" _Kiba told her.

"_Yeah he's right, you just gotta move forward. Right? Right?" _Hige jumped up, looking at the others.

"_Oh yeah, we can see right through you Porky" _Tsume said, causing Bri to giggle.

"_Now only if Cheza were with us" _Toboe murmured and winced when Hige punched his head.

"_I told you not to say that" _He hissed at Toboe, "_Okay now that everything's settled, its time to move on. To Paradise!" _He yelled pointing forward.

"_We're going this way" _Kiba said, pointing in a different direction.

"_Huh? Paradise isn't that way" _Toboe said.

"_But Darcia's keep is" _

"_Do you think Cheza's there?" _Toboe asked Kiba.

He turned around and nodded.

"_Kiba. Cheza left us of her own free will you know?" _Tsume said from behind them.

"_She only did that to protect us" _Kiba said, "_She's waiting for us, I know she is"_

_"That noble will be there too" _Tsume warned, "_We all might get killed this time"_

_"If we're meant to die, then so be it" _Kiba replied.

"_When that happens, you'll be on your own"_

_"So we're going? To find Cheza right?" _Toboe asked excitedly.

"_Right. Let's go" _Hige exclaimed.

Bri got up and stood in front of Blue, holding her hand out. Blue took it hesitantly and Bri pulled her up. "Welcome to the pack Blue. I'm Bri"

Blue smiled and Bri smiled back before joining Tsume and poking fun at him for caring about the pack.

Hige held his hand out to Blue. "_C'mon" _

Blue nodded and they ran, leaving the city and heading towards Darcia's Keep.

* * *

They had been travelling for days and they were currently walking through howling winds that pelted them with snow. Kiba walked far ahead, not slowing down and the others struggled to keep up, especially the girls and Toboe.

Hige noticed this and yelled at Kiba, "_Hey Kiba! Slow down" _Kiba didn't seem to hear him so he ran forward and spun Kiba around.

"_C'mon, you're going too fast. Let's take a break" _Hige panted.

"_We don't have time for that" _Kiba replied and turned back, starting to move forward again.

"_Would you use your head for once?! We've got two girls and a kid with us!" _

_"We can hear you, you know? We're fine thanks" _Bri and Blue snapped from behind in unison.

"_Yeah me too" _Toboe said.

"_You realise he's the one that wants to rest don't you?" _Tsume asked, nonchalantly.

"_I do not…I just" _Hige began before Tsume cut him off.

"_But you do have to admit that he's got a point. At this point, none of us will make it. We can take shelter in those rocks until the storm clears"_

_"That settles it, can you guys hang in a little longer?" _Hige asked the girls and Toboe.

"_Just worry about yourself" _Blue told him, walking past him with the others.

"_Yes ma'am" _Hige sulked.

The rocks turned out to be a building of some sort, probably a communications area or a storehouse. They went inside, grateful to be out of the storm.

"_You do know it won't be ending anytime soon? You should rest a bit" _Tsume told Kiba who was looking out at the storm.

"_What do you say Kiba? I mean the storm will blow itself out by morning" _Hige said, from where he was sitting.

"_It already has. C'mon it'll be fine" _Kiba said, turning to look at them.

"Are you blind? It's like a friggin' tornado of snow out there!" Bri exclaimed.

"_Well none of us will be fine" _Tsume snarled at him.

"_Do what you want, I'm leaving" _Kiba told them.

"_Look don't worry about us, we're fine" _Blue said, standing up with Toboe.

"_No, it's not" _Hige said and Kiba walked off.

"_Kiba!" _Toboe shouted after him.

"_Leave him, his mind's only on Cheza" _Hige said angrily.

"_We'll follow him once the storm blows over" _Tsume replied, "_For now just get some rest and don't think about it"_

_"Hige? Are you sure about this?" _Blue asked.

"_He obsesses too much. What can you do?" _

Bri shivered when some wind blew into the room. She instinctively snuggled closer to Tsume, ignoring his surprised look.

"It's freezing" She murmured into his chest. He placed an arm around her, trying to warm her up. Her lips had started to get a blue tint to them.

"Damn Kiba" He muttered.

"S'not his fault, I should have gotten warmer clothes" She mumbled, her eyelids drooping.

"Shush shorty and get some sleep" He told her.

"Okay" She whispered and fell asleep, oblivious to Hige's snickering at their contact.

By the time the storm blew out, everybody had fallen asleep. Bri woke up and flushed bright red when she opened her eyes and came face to face with Tsume's chest. She tried to untangle herself from him but managed to wake him up.

"What the hell are you doing shorty?" He grumbled at her.

"We gotta get going, the storm's blown itself out" She mumbled back, cheeks still flushed. She woke the others and they soon left, Kiba's scent still in the air.

They followed it to a huge dark building with a massive metal gate that stood over them ominously. "_So this is the Keep of Darcia" _Tsume said

"_The place looks like it should be haunted" _Hige replied, causing Toboe to jump.

"_By what?"_

_"By the ghosts of all the cursed nobles" _Hige told him, laughing.

"_C'mon don't say stuff like that!" _Toboe whined.

"_But still are you sure that girl is inside of there?" _Blue asked uncertainly.

Hige sniffed the air, "_The scent's faint but it's definitely a Lunar Flower all right"_

They walked through the gate and across the bridge towards the castle.

"_Looks like he has visitors" _Tsume said, looking pointedly at the red car that stood in front of the doorway.

Blue gasped and ran towards the car, looking inside.

"_Pops is here" _She whispered.

Blue ran towards the door and the others followed her.

They walked through the castle, Blue hurrying in front.

"_Why the hell are you in such a rush?" _Hige asked her.

"_It's Pops, I know he's here"_

_"But do you really wanna see him? That Pops guy?" _Toboe asked her.

That caused Blue to stop and whisper, "_No, maybe it's better if I don't"_

_"But maybe he's here because he wants to find you" _Toboe replied.

"_So? What if is? Are you gonna go back and be that human's dog?" _Tsume asked unkindly from behind.

"_Hey lay off!" _Hige exclaimed at him.

"_Yeah you don't know what it's like" _Toboe yelled at him.

"_Guess I don't. Unlike you two, I've never had the pleasure of being kept as a pet" _

"Tsume stop it. Please" Bri pleaded with him, tugging at his arm. He looked at her and she looked surprised at the anger in his eyes. She backed off and turned her head away.

"_Let's go find Kiba and Cheza" _Hige said and they walked in silence.

They were walking along the halls, following Hige and his nose when they suddenly heard a gunshot. Blue gasped and started running, the others following her. They ran into a room where the wolf hunter was pointing a gun at Kiba. Lord Darcia was in the room along with the scientist and a tall blonde haired man.

"_No don't!" _Blue yelled, standing in front of Kiba in her animal form.

That caused the old man's eyes to widen and lower the gun down. "_Blue?"_ He whispered, shocked.

"_Kiba!" _Toboe yelled.

Bri snapped her head up when she heard something rumbling from outside. She narrowed her eyes and nearly jumped out of her skin when a girl holding a crystal ball yelled, "_My Lord Darcia!"_

Her scream was nearly engulfed by the sound of a laser burning through the roof, causing an explosion and propelling the girl away.

"_Cheza!" _Kiba yelled and began running to her but he got blown away by a laser.

"_Kiba!" _The others yelled and sighed in relief when he landed in front of them.

Cheza was picked up by the blonde haired man and they made a run for it, the wolf hunter joining them almost reluctantly while he stared at Blue with sad eyes.

The other wolves made a run for it, just as the windows shattered into millions of tiny shards.

While they were running, Kiba stopped and started running in a different direction.

"_What are you doing? KIBA!" _Tsume yelled as explosion after explosion came close to them. They followed him and saw that he was running towards a ship that was taking off. They could smell that Cheza was in there, along with Blue.

Kiba desperately tried to reach the ship but it flew away and Kiba yelled in anguish. He ran off somewhere and now the pack was looking for him among the ruins of Darcia's Keep.

"_Kiba!" _Toboe yelled, "_Kibaaaaa!" _

His yells were turning into howls, long howls that echoed around them. It started snowing and everybody felt lost. They had lost Cheza for a second time, they lost Blue and now they had lost Kiba.

Today wasn't a good day to be them. At all.

* * *

Hey so another update! Wow I spoil you guys wayy too much :P

Bit shorter than the previous chapter by a couple hundred words but I wanted to get this out of the way so I could do the recollection episodes! Hahah yay! And I'll be doing one for every character it does it for, including Hubb because I feel like I need to include the humans in this.

EDIT: I'm skipping Tsume's chapter since nothing new with him because he's with Bri so I guess I'm starting with Toboe

Anyway so some more fluff, action and violence in this chapter. :) Hope you enjoy and please review and favourite!

Also if you want any requests for the recollection chapters, I will be happy to take them :) Just leave me a review with what you want :)

Happy readings!

-Black :) :)


	7. Blast from the Past

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain_**

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**_Chapter 7: Blast from the Past_**

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Toboe was wandering in the forest, his emotions in a whirlwind. Shock, misery, disbelief, amazement and loneliness. He had never been alone in his life for this long.

_'I never imagined I would be able to come this far' _He thought to himself, looking around the forest glumly, '_I guess I never thought I would set out on a journey'_

He kept trudging through the forest and when the trees started thinning, he was greeted with the sight of a monstrous city. He wandered around the city, awed at the sheer size of it. He noticed that everybody seemed sad and hungry, like him. Children's faces peered out from behind their mothers to look at them, their childish faces pinched and pale.

Toboe started looking for food and started his way through the maze-like streets until he found some crows eating at some meat. He hid around a corner and snarled at the crows. The crows pecked at his muzzle, making him whine and back up into a cat. The cat hissed at him and he dashed behind some crates.

He pricked his ears and turned around, seeing a young girl with violet coloured eyes. She smiled softly at him and held out some sausages from her grocery bag.

"_Here, try some of these. They taste better" _She said.

Toboe whined and backed further into the crates, unsure what to do.

"_Come on you can have them. You're hungry aren't ya?" _ Toboe slowly came forward and sniffed the sausages cautiously.

"_They're not poisonous or anything" _She took a bite of the end and chewed, "_See it's fine"_

Toboe sniffed them again and pulled them away from her hand, devouring them in a few quick bites.

"_Where'd you come from little fella? If you stay around here for too long, the dog catchers will get you for sure"_

She gasped in surprise when Toboe licked her hand and patted him, giggling softly when he nuzzled into her hand.

"_You sure are warm" _She whispered.

"_Leara!" _A man shouted and the girl got up, giving Toboe one last pat. Toboe started following her but stopped when she told him she couldn't keep him.

He sat and tilted his head.

"_That's funny, it's like you can understand me" _She mumbled before running up the stairs.

Toboe simply sat there, desperately hoping he would see Leara again.

Toboe's wish came true. Leara was walking down the street with another bag of groceries. Toboe leaned against a wall in his human form, waiting for Leara to pass him.

"_Hey I wanted to say thanks for the sausages. You remember back in the alleyway? Well that was my dog" _Toboe stuttered out.

"_That beautiful dog belongs to you?" _She asked him excitedly.

"_Beautiful? Yeah, yeah he's mine" _

_"But how'd you know about it?" _

"_Oh uh…I heard it from the lady at the store" _Toboe explained hurriedly. That was close.

"_What's his name anyway?" _

_"His name? Oh its Toboe"_

_"Toboe? What a weird name" _She laughed.

"_You think so? Yeah, I guess it is"_

_"My name is Leara. What's yours?"_

_"I just told you. It's Toboe" _Toboe replied carelessly.

"_I thought that was your dog's name?" Leara asked, confused._

_"Oh we're a lot alike so I named him after myself"_

_"You're pretty weird all right" _

Toboe laughed. At least she believed him. Maybe he wouldn't be alone anymore?

Leara left and he followed her and spotted her at her window, her bird flying away. Toboe chased after it and caught it. He returned it back to Leara and when the bird didn't move, he realized he had killed it when he tried to catch it.

"_I knew it was yours, I just wanted to….I didn't think it would die" _He whispered, tears in his eyes. Leara simply stared at him, lost for words.

Her eyes widened in shock when he morphed into his original form and started howling in pure misery.

All of a sudden a hand grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, causing him to help in surprise. It was Tsume, the one that had saved him from that guy that tried to shoot him. Tsume dragged him back into an empty house and started scolding him and making fun of how Toboe wanted to go back to Leara.

Toboe sat in the corner his thoughts so preoccupied with thinking about Leara and Granny that he didn't notice that somebody was hugging him. He looked down in shock and saw a young woman, hugging him and smiling at him gently. Toboe still stared at her in shock but eventually hugged the woman back, grateful for the comfort and warmth it brought.

"**Bri what the hell are you doing?" **Toboe heard Tsume ask gruffly.

"**What the hell does it look like I'm doing? I'm comforting the damn kid. God knows what you said to him, you jerk" **The woman snapped back at him and started ruffling Toboe's hair. He sighed happily, Granny used to do the to him all the time. He felt his eyelids starting to droop.

"**This is too sappy for me, I'm gonna go check on the gang" **Tsume said and that was the last thing Toboe heard before he fell asleep.

He dreamt about his time with Granny, how she raised him and cared for him and how she fed him delicious food. He remembered the days when he would sit next to her feet in front of the fire as she knitted and he remembered the day when she died.

Toboe had been overly-excited and when he saw Granny he had jumped on her, oblivious to her protests and wheezing breath. When he calmed down, he had noticed that she wasn't breathing. He had left Granny's house in a daze and he started in a random direction, hoping that it had all been a bad dream.

He dreamt about his short time with Leara as well. She was the second human to show him kindness and he had scared her away. He hated himself a bit for that but he was sadder that he had chased her away. They would have been good friends.

Toboe woke up afterwards, noticing that it was still dark inside. Tsume was sitting at the windowsill and the woman had fallen asleep, one hand still placed on Toboe's head. He gently moved away from her, careful not to disturb her.

For some reason, Toboe found himself talking to Tsume about his life with Granny. He told Tsume how Granny had found him and looked after him.

"_You mean she kept you as a pet. That human tamed you and you were no more than an obedient dog"_

_"I wasn't! I only…wanted to protect her but she still…" _Toboe raised his voice before lowering it.

"_She still threw you out?"_

_"She still…died. She died. I let her die" _Toboe whispered, crying.

Tsume said nothing in return and silence filled the air.

Tsume got up after a while and started talking to some human. Toboe didn't catch anything, wallowing in guilt and misery.

Tsume came back in and picked the woman up, moving her into a different room shaking his head at her. Toboe looked at him in confusion but Tsume didn't look at him and instead stood in front of the window.

Suddenly a sharp screeching noise filled the air and Toboe clapped his hands to his ears in pain. Tsume looked unaffected by the sound. "Can't you hear it?_" _Toboe exclaimed over the noise.

"_Shut up Toboe! Just be quiet!" _Tsume barked at him when Toboe started yelling in pain.

The noise stopped and daybreak quickly came. Tsume brought back a box of supplies and handed Toboe a hamburger. The woman still wasn't awake and Toboe could heard Tsume muttering about her under his breath.

"_You heard that sound didn't you? And it must have made you sad. So stop lying and just be honest with yourself" _Toboe muttered darkly at him.

"_Fine whatever, if you wanna go see that girl then go" _Tsume snapped, "_It's not like I care what happens to you" _

"_So why did you save me then? If you didn't care then you should have just left me or pretended not to recognise me. I mean, I'm not your friend or anything"_

_"You're right, you're nor my friend"_

_"Yeah I forgot, you're only friends with humans. It's easier that way isn't it? Coz no human is ever gonna be as strong as you and they'll do whatever you tell them too" _Toboe grumbled.

"_You don't know what you're talking about. You have no idea what it takes to survive in this city, how dangerous it is. Nothing. Go on, let's see how well you do on your own. Beat it!" _Tsume growled at him, throwing his hamburger on the ground in front of Toboe.

Toboe got up and walked out the door.

"_Hey I'm sorry, I'm sorry I ever got mixed up with a kid like you" _Tsume said, sitting back on the windowsill.

Toboe went back to the place where he had gotten bullied by the crows and scared them off, snapping up the meat angrily. 'What does he know? I'm fine by myself' he thought angrily.

Suddenly he heard something metallic and whipped his head around, slightly scared as the pothole moved and he heard voices.

A head popped out from beneath the pot hole and looked around.

"_Uh oh must have taken a wrong turn. Huh? Hey hey, it's one of our own" _The head said, looking at Toboe. He had shaggy light brown hair with amber eyes and a collar loosely hanging around his neck.

"_Move it will you?" _A voice came from below and suddenly the man was pushed up and another man replaced him. This one had black hair and blue eyes.

"_That's the last time I trust your nose" _The blue-eyed man told the other one.

"_Well, anyone's nose would go numb after a night in that stink hole" _The man retorted.

"_You guys? No way you're…" _Toboe trailed off, shocked at the sight of the two men.

The blue-eyed one looked at him and then looked behind Toboe. Toboe turned his head and saw Leara standing there. She started shaking when he looked at her.

"_Leara, don't be scared I won't do anything. I just…wanted to see you again. I'm so sorry, about your bird" _Toboe whispered to her, still in his original form.

"_Daddy? Daddy? Daddy? DADDY?!" _Leara screamed, "_Come quick it's the wolf! The wolf is here" _

The two men ran off and Toboe followed them into a dead end, holes in the walls.

"_Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm" _Toboe chanted to himself, morphing into his human form.

Leara appeared at the end and gasped when she saw Toboe.

"_Why Leara? Why'd you scream like that?"_

_"No stay away" _She shook her head, taking a step back, "_There's something wrong with you, you're not normal, how can anybody ever trust you?"_

_"Leara please, I only showed you so you could trust me" _

_"No don't come any closer"_

_"Why? Didn't you come here to catch me?" _Toboe muttered, putting his hand on her arm.

"_No!"_ Leara shook his hand off and fell backwards.

"_C'mon" _The brown-haired man had his head out a pipe. Toboe looked at Leara one more time then followed the man through the pipe.

The three were running along the sewers.

"_I told you how much I hate smelly places" _The brown-haired man whined, "_Runt, what's eating you?_

_"I'm not a runt" _Toboe snapped, "_My name's Toboe"_

_"That's cool, well I'm Hige and this here is Kiba" _The brown haired man told him.

"_Where are we going?" _Toboe asked.

"_Where do you think? To the exit of course"_

_"We're leaving town" _Kiba said, walking ahead.

"_Leaving town? Where else are you going to go?"_

_"To Paradise" _Kiba replied.

Toboe stopped, thinking.

"_Hey guys, do you know Tsume?" _He blurted out.

"_Tsume?" _

"_Nah never heard of him" _Hige replied.

"_Is he the one with the scar on his chest?" _Kiba asked.

_"Yeah that's Tsume alright!" _Toboe exclaimed

"_Okay, what about him?" _

_"He's one of us so I thought he might wanna leave too" _Toboe murmured.

"_Well I don't know is he hiding out some place?" _Hige asked.

"_I don't know" _Toboe replied, "_We got split up"_

_"Sorry pal but it's too late to go back for him now, so like is he a friend of yours?"_

_"No he's not! He's not my friend.." _Toboe muttered.

"_So? Ditch him already" _Hige told him with a wave of his hand, "_Shake a leg runt"_

_"That's Toboe"_

_"Wait" _Kiba said, causing the two to look at him. Kiba started going up the ladder.

They walked through a door and spotted somebody sitting on the ground.

"_What a crap heap, why'd you bring us here?" _Hige asked, oblivious to the man sitting on the windowsill before them.

"_Tsume?" _Toboe exclaimed.

"_You!" _He snapped.

"_Hey, is this him?" _Hige asked, looking at Toboe and Tsume.

"_I could smell the blood from your wound, all the way from here to town" _Kiba said, staring at Tsume intently.

"_And you're gonna nurse me back to health?" _Tsume snapped, "_Well I don't need your help"_

Kiba looked like he was going to reply but was interrupted by somebody opening the door and running towards Tsume. It was that woman from before. She slapped Tsume on the back of the head and started scolding him.

**"Hey pup can you move that brick from behind you and chuck me what's inside. Never knew I would need it now…thanks to a certain old man that can't stay put!" **

Toboe moved the brick and passed the first aid kit to the woman. She started removing a small bottle of vodka and some bandages.

"**I'm not an old man! You should watch your tongue shorty" **Tsume snapped at her, causing her to hit him on the back of his head again.

"**Don't snap at me jerk face. I'm the one that's healing you" **She snapped at him and held the vodka bottle threateningly.** "Stay still now Tsume or I'll pour this whole bottle into your wound**"

She poured some into the wound and looked slightly satisfied at Tsume's wince. Hige started coughing, covering up his snickers.

"**So…why are you guys here? I didn't think I would see you in human form Whitey. Why the sudden change?" **The woman asked as she wrapped up Tsume's cut.

**"My name isn't Whitey, it's Kiba.** **Plus someone told me that ****_having pride doesn't count much if I'm dead"_** Kiba replied.

"**Damn straight. Now Tsume, where did you run off to? And why do you smell like the wolf hunter and like one of the gang members?"**

Toboe started tuning out a bit but Hige's voice snapped him back to reality.

"_I hate to interrupt but a nasty stink is coming this way"_

_"We're surrounded" _Came Tsume's curt voice.

"_Let me ask you something, why did you guys come to this city? It was because of the flower scent wasn't it? Well it's gone now. There's no reason to stay" _Kiba said, his voice strong and almost wistful.

"_The flower has nothing to do with it. Me _**and Bri **_because we belong" _Tsume snapped at Kiba, staring out the window.

"_I can see that, this city is a dump" _

Toboe could see Tsume bristling in anger at Kiba's comment. "_I still have a score to settle with you" _And with those words he took a step forward.

Hige groaned in exasperation, "_We don't have time for this" _and the woman ('was her name Bri?) made a move to pull Tsume back, her hand wavering in the air.

The two didn't make the slightest inclination that they were hearing Hige. "_Do you have the slightest idea what leaving the city would mean? You'll just die"_ Tsume said, his eyes narrowing at Kiba.

"Tsume calm down." Bri spluttered out but they continued to ignore her.

"_Possibly. Everyone's gonna die, it's a natural part of life. But if life has no purpose, you're dead already_" Kiba replied, not taking his eyes of Tsume's.

Toboe could feel the thick tension in the air, weighing on their shoulders and making him gulp to get rid of the lump that had formed in his throat.

Suddenly a light bright filled the room from the ground and shots were being fired. They all sprinted of the room and onto the pipes that connected the building to other buildings.

They were running fast, dodging bullets that were aimed at them, leaving the bullets to hit the pipes. Suddenly, Toboe's foot slid of the side of the pipe and he fell with a shocked yell, holding onto a thin strip of metal that ran along the sides of the pipe.

"_Tsume!" _

Tsume looked back and ran towards him, grabbing Toboe's shoulder in his wolf form. Toboe didn't flinch and let himself get hauled up.

"_Go on hurry up!" _Tsume barked at him.

"_You're really not coming with us?" _Toboe asked him sadly. Tsume hesitated slightly before giving a firm nod.

Shots started whizzing past them and they ran, Tsume standing next to Bri while Toboe kept running with the others.

Kiba stopped and stood, staring at the tunnel which they had just run out of.

"_What?" _Hige asked.

Kiba kept staring and suddenly Tsume and Bri came running out.

"_Tsume!" _Toboe exclaimed, happy that the wolf was going to be joining them. Bri came over to him and smiled.

**"I never did tell you my name did I? It's Bri" **She said cheerfully and Toboe was relieved that he had been calling her by the right name. She ruffled his hair and Toboe smiled wider, although it was a touch sad since Granny used to do that to him.

"**Mine's Toboe" **

"_This way" _Kiba called and the others followed him. Bullets were being fired at their backs as they ran and jumped off the huge gate. Kiba jumped first, followed by Hige but Toboe stopped. 'I don't know if I'm prepared for this, I'm travelling with strangers" He thought, slightly panicking.

"_Move it!" _Came Tsume's voice from behind him and suddenly he was kicked off the ledge, "_I was getting ready to!" _He cried back as he fell into the snow.

"**Tsume! Don't be so rude" **Toboe heard Bri's voice from above followed by her laugh. She jumped as well and now they were waiting for Tsume.

"_Are you scared?" _Kiba asked softly but his voice drifted towards Tsume.

Toboe knew that Tsume had his eyes narrowed as he said, "_Yeah, you wish" _And he jumped off the ledge, running alongside the others.

Toboe gave the city one last glance. He was ready to move on, to be with his own kind. He smiled and ran with the others, feeling the happiest he had ever felt since Granny passed away.

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Chapter 7! Yay!

So this didn't cover much I know but I just wanted this out as soon as possible so I can finish the other chapters and get back to the story. The next chapter will be from Hige's POV and will start from when they leave to the end of his flashbacks and Hubb's will be the whole story so far from his point of view so that will be pretty long.

Anyway, sorry for any mistakes and I really hope you guys like this and leave me a review!

-Black :)


	8. Hot Dog Wolf

**A/N:**** Wow, sorry for the long delay! I had so many assignments, essays and tests to do but now its holidays so more time to write! Also I've started reading Bleach which will take me forever to finish! I'm already past the 100th chapter! Go me! **

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_**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain and I do not make any money from this fanfiction.**_

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'_The scent of flowers was gone, so we set out in search for Paradise. That runt Toboe joined us and Tsume, whose bark is as bad as his bite. It's mostly just a front. _So did that female, Bri. She and Tsume were totally wrapped around each other. _Anyway, we're all in this together. C'mon give us your best shot! We can take it.'_

They had travelled for days, through sand and snow, heat and cold. By the time they found shelter in a cave from a howling blizzard, their paws had hardened and bled and their mouths had run dry from thirst.

Hige clutched his stomach as it gave another loud grumble.

"_Oh man, I sure am hungry" _Toboe whined, his knees pressed against his chest.

"_You can say that again" _Hige complained, staring at the rocky ceiling.

"_How long has it been since we ate anything?"_

_"I don't know, I guess it's been about three days or so" _Hige answered Toboe.

"_Will you two quit your whining already? It's only been three stupid days" _Tsume growled from Toboe's right. Bri sat next to him with a small smile playing on her lips.

"_Yeah but if we hadn't left the city we would have something to eat right now" _Toboe continued.

"_Well if worse comes to worse, we can always eat each other. We could start with the runt, since he's gotten so weak and of course there's always little Porky over there_" Tsume said matter-of-factly.

Hige snapped his head up to look at Tsume, a miffed expression on his face. He opened his mouth to say something but he got interrupted.

"_What a second, how come Kiba_ and Bri _aren't on the menu_?" Toboe asked, annoyed at being called runt and the thought of being eaten first.

"_Because the guy's totally full of crap that's why_. And Bri we can't eat because I'm saving her for myself" Tsume said with a wolfish grin and Bri glared at him.

Hige sniggered slightly at the blatant flirting Tsume was doing. Damn, that guy was an amateur. 'He should be taking lessons from me' He thought to himself.

"Not if I eat you first" Bri smirked but Tsume didn't hear her, he was too busy having a staring contest with Kiba. Hige gave a huff of annoyance. Of course, if Tsume wasn't flirting with his girlfriend then he would be trying to start a fight with Kiba.

Toboe tried to calm them down but the other two didn't listen to him. Tsume and Kiba started snapping at each other while Bri and Toboe tried to calm them down. Hige sniffed the air, all of his senses dulling except for his nose which was trained on the tastiest scent. He leapt up to his feet, still sniffing the air excitedly.

The others called after him and he hurriedly gave replies back, still focusing intently on that meaty scent. He ran out, running towards that scent. He distantly heard the others calling after him but he gave no notice. Finally he stopped and was greeted with the sight of a freshly dead deer.

The others soon arrived and he dug in with them, laughing internally at Tsume's mild disgust of them eating the deer. After a while, Tsume and Kiba got in another fight and Tsume walked away with the runt on his heels. Bri soon followed them, vehemently denying Hige's comments that she was his girlfriend.

They soon made it into another desolate town that seemed like the others the group had passed. As they walked through the streets they noticed a flicking flame to their left and looked shocked at the group that sat around the fire. These people….they were wolves, just like them.

"_It's a woman_" Hige gasped and Bri looked at him affronted. "What am I, chopped meat?" Hige chuckled nervously.

A man in his late 40's stood up, a huge scar running down his cheek. "_Where are you boys_ and girl _from_?"

"_A city to the north_" Kiba replied.

"Why are you here?" Asked the man, authority seeping into his voice.

"Just passing through" Tsume said stiffly. "You don't expect us to do business here, in a dump like this?"

"Tsume!" Bri hissed at him.

"_Where are you going_?" The alpha asked, eyes only on Kiba.

Hige tried to stutter out a reply but Toboe cut him off. "_To Paradise_"

The alpha's eyes widened and started laughing quietly before growing louder, his pack joining in. Except for the woman who sat there silently. Hige looked at her, noticing the small frown she had on her face.

"_Kiba why are they laughing_?" the runt asked, confused.

"_Because they obviously don't know what Paradise is_" Kiba replied and the alpha stopped laughing.

"We know all about it"

Hige gasped with Toboe. Kiba narrowed his eyes at the alpha.

"Now why don't you all just get lost?" Asked the leader. "You do have somewhere you belong, don't you?"

They walked off and Toboe ushered Kiba away, gently pulling him by the arm.

They walked along the sea, the saltiness of the air tickling Hige's nose. He fought back the urge to sneeze violently.

Tsume was complaining about the pack giving him the brush off and when Hige said something, the annoying wolf snapped at him. Toboe stood next to Bri and said, "_This city doesn't feel right. There are so many wolves but it's still cold_"

"_Well maybe they're right, the sooner we get out of this city the better" _Tsume said over his shoulder.

"_And where do you think we should go exactly? There has to be something here, look how many wolves are in this city. I think we should stay and found out"_

"As long as we stay away from that pack. One of them was eyeing me like I was a piece of meat the bastard" Bri growled out and Hige joined the others in looking at her in shock.

"What? You didn't notice that? Seriously?" She said and they all looked away, embarrassed. Hige noticed that Tsume was still looking at Bri and gave a chuckle but tried to disguise it as a cough.

"What?" Tsume shook his head and kept walking. She looked after him confused and Hige wiggled his eyebrows at her. "What?" She asked him but he just shook his head.

"I don't wanna spoil the fun"

"What fun? Will somebody tell me what's going on?" But everybody ignored her and she huffed.

Hige snickered at her and when she gave him a dirty look, he simply laughed louder.

The others started walking faster and Hige joined them. They talked amongst themselves, Hige mostly complained about how hungry he was and how much the city stank. He managed to piss of Tsume with his comments and he couldn't stop laughing at Tsume's reactions and facial expression.

'Maybe I should turn this into a game?' Hige thought to himself.

All of a sudden, they heard faint howling which was followed by a shout, "TSUME! TOBOE! KIBA! HIGE! HELLLLLP!"

"Shit, it's Bri" Tsume snarled and started running towards the direction of her shouts. The others stood dumbfounded for a while before joining him. Kiba started running alongside Tsume and they leapt at something. Hige felt his stomach drop at the scene in front of him.

There was a male wolf, one of the pack members of that alpha's and he had started walking towards Bri but now he was fighting off Tsume and Kiba as they snapped their jaws at him.

"Hige! Get your ass over here!" Tsume yelled at Hige, who quickly leapt in and helped Kiba. He managed to close his jaws over the male's leg and bit down, hard. Blood spurted into his mouth and the male wolf gave an angry snarl.

Hige just managed to jump back in time to avoid the snapping jaws of the male. He spat out the blood onto the concrete and tried to bit the wolf again.

"Idiot, don't mess with our pack!" Hige snarled at him.

Eventually, the male had passed out and Kiba and Hige had to haul him back to the pack leader, who had looked shocked and angry that one of his members had done this. He gave a gruff apology to Kiba and Hige who nodded stiffly.

They followed the scent of the other three back to an abandoned place where Toboe and Bri were already asleep.

"How is she?" Kiba asked Tsume.

"She's fine" Tsume grumbled. Kiba nodded at him and then fell asleep with Hige following suit.

When they woke up, Bri and Tsume were already awake and talking with each other. Bri looked happier as she laughed with Tsume.

Kiba and Hige shared a look when they saw Tsume's expression. Hige was about to say something teasingly but he locked eyes with Tsume and the older wolf narrowed his eyes at him.

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Night soon fell and the group made their way in a random direction. By the time they realised it, they had arrived at a graveyard.

"_This place gives me the willies_" Toboe whined and Bri ruffled his hair, "_Guys, I keep hearing something weird_"

"_Dammit would you stop being afraid of everything?" _Tsume snapped at him, walking in front.

As they walked closer to the centre, they heard the sound dirt being shifted. Suddenly, a wolf popped up from a hole in the ground, causing Tobe and Hige to yell out and fall backwards.

"_Hey gramps what are you doing? You scared the crap out of us_" Hige complained from the ground, rubbing the back of his head.

"_Oh I was only digging a hole for myself" _the old man replied, smiling at the group.

"_A hole for yourself?" _Asked Hige.

"_Are you saying you're digging a grave?"_ Kiba asked, pale blue eyes staring at the man.

"_When you get to my age, you begin to recognise the signs of when your time is up"_

_"You might wanna dig a little faster than" _Tsume told the old man.

"_Excuse me but do you if there are any Lunar Flowers in this city?" _Kiba asked.

The old man's eyes widened owlishly before exclaiming, "_oh, oh OH! Apparently, it went on forever! Long, long ago, they bloomed all over this island but then one day they were all dug up and now there isn't a single petal left" _He finished sadly.

"_Can you tell me what colour Lunar flowers are_?" Toboe asked the old man.

"_What colour they were? Why, the colour of the moon!" _

Tsume snorted, "_And what about Paradise? Have you been there?"_

_"Oh every wolf goes in search, I myself tried to look for it once"_

_"What did you do?" _The pup listened to the old man with wide eyes.

The old man didn't answer but got out of his hole and walked upwards, the group following him.

"_Look there's the entrance over there" _ The old man pointed to a pipe, its opening covered in branches of wood and writing on the top, worn away slightly by age.

"_Eugh that reeks! It smells Death warmed over!" _Hige exclaimed, clapping his hands over his nose. Damn, that smell was starting to give him a headache.

"_I was kinda hoping that it would be a nice place" _Toboe murmured, staring at the pipe with Kiba.

Kiba started walking towards the pipe but the old man stopped him.

"_There have been many young wolves that set out through there but not one reached Paradise" _The old man told him softly.

The old man mumbled something else to Kiba, but a voice came from behind them. "_Okay old man,I think you should call it a day, don't forget there's work to do tomorrow" _They turned around and saw the alpha male.

The old man thanked the pack leader and walked back towards the entrance of the graveyard.

"_Wait! When you and your pack searched for Paradise, was this the path you took?" _Kiba asked and the alpha turned to look at him.

"_I thought I told you that it doesn't exist"_

_"Zali" _The old man stood next to him. Zali looked at him and turned back to Kiba.

"_If you kids disrupt the peace of this pack in any way, I'll show you no mercy. Now get out before dawn. Is that clear?"_

He put an arm around the old man and they walked back to the entrance.

The group stared at the pipe, wondering if Paradise was actually at the end of that pipe.

When they made it back to their sleeping place, Tsume asked Kiba if he still believed in Paradise. Bri tried telling him to just let it go, but Tsume has having none of it.

"_They said that they've been there and it wasn't that nice"_

_"Well maybe what they found wasn't Paradise" _Kiba replied, staring out the window.

"_Where the hell does all that confidence come from?" _Tsume snorted, "_Anyway, you know it's hopeless and there's absolutely no guarantee that we'll ever reach it. We'd be stupid to keep going" _

"_Don't say that, besides getting angrier just makes you hungrier" _Toboe said, concern and worry in his voice.

Hige heard Bri reprimand Tsume who didn't say anything in reply. Hige focused back on the conversation, absentmindedly rubbing his stomach.

"_Let's just hang around here and just die in the gutter, start digging some holes like that old man" _

_"It's not confidence, I'm not really sure what it is. But it's always there, screaming inside of me. I just have to know, that's why I've kept on running all this time. I can't imagine not believing in it" _Kiba replied, voice soft and weary.

Toboe looked awed at his story and Bri could see Tsume look somewhat impressed with Kiba.

The woman came in with a warm smile on her face. "_You guys must be starving by now_"

"_Yes! Yes! We are, we are! It's very kind of you to notice" _Hige shouted excitedly. He heard Bri giggling at his behaviour.

Kiba walked away and the pup followed him. Hige started munching on the bread and tried to convince Tsume and Bri to eat. Bri came closer and tore some bread off, eating it slowly

"_What about you, are you gonna eat_?" the woman asked Tsume but he turned his head.

"_Aw c'mon, lighten up and dig in already will ya? I mean face it, we don't know when our next meals gonna be_" Hige mumbled from between bites.

"_Weren't you listening back there? Our little trip is over. We don't have a destination" _Tsume snapped and Bri sighed at his words.

_"Well what do you think, Miss uh" _Hige asked the woman.

"_My name is Cole_"

"_Cole huh?" _Hige said with a smile.

Tsume grunted at Hige. Hige gave him a glare back. Bri giggled and Cole turned to look at her, her expression apologetic.

"I'm sorry about the night before"

Bri shook her head. "Its fine, it would have been worse if he actually did anything. But if he comes near me, I'll rip him to shreds"

Cole laughed and agreed. "_Maybe you guys should think about staying around for a while_"

Hige smiled, "_Well that's tempting isn't it?"_

Tsume got up with a grunt and walked out the same way Kiba left just as Toboe got back. "_Guys Kiba's gone off on his own and now Tsume's left"_

_"Let him go. This place has more going for it than I thought" _Hige replied, looking up at Cole.

Bri stood up and walked over to Toboe and ruffled his hair. "I'll go after Tsume, pup. You stay here and eat. Make sure Hige doesn't flirt too much with Cole, okay?" She laughed and walked off, following Tsume.

Hige continued to wolf down the bread and talk with Cole, annoyed when the runt interrupted him. Seriously, couldn't he see that he was trying to talk with her? Suddenly the runt stood up and ran out the door yelling, "I'll be back, I'm gonna go after them!"

Cole soon stood up and brushed the dust of her clothes. "I should probably get going too"

Hige tilted his head to the side, confused at her comment but told her that he would be there. Cole smiled at him and walked out.

Hige flopped back down on the ground. He grunted with happiness now that he had finally eaten.

"Where could those morons be now?" He wondered to himself before mentally shrugging.

"They'll probably be back later tonight and if not then Cole or somebody has probably told them to go to the train station? Hopefully" Hige murmured to himself before closing his eyes for a quick nap.

* * *

By the time he woke up, it was dark outside. He looked around the room sleepily and noticed that he was still by himself. He groaned and stood up, stretching.

"Better see if they're at the train station then"

When he made it to the train station, he noticed Toboe and Tsume sitting on a bench and Bri standing stiffly next to Tsume, not looking at him. Hige started talking with the runt and Tsume. Tsume and Bri looked as if they were ignoring each other. Toboe and Hige looked confused at their silence.

"Must be a lover's spat" He whispered to Toboe and Toboe looked more confused. Hige laughed and nudged the pup. "You'll get it when you're older"

Hige heard Bri gasp and noticed she was standing next to the rails. The others stood next to her and stared at the scene below them. There were at least 6 wolves, tied up to a cart like a bunch of dogs. Wolves and humans alike looked at the scene with indifference.

"_What are they doing_?" Hige asked but nobody answered him.

A human cracked his whip and the wolves started pulling, straining under the weight of the cart. They pulled the cart upwards, towards the entrance of the train station.

"_What the hell is going on down there?" _Tsume growled at Zali, who had joined them.

Zali turned to look at Tsume, saying nothing.

The dogs stopped halfway from the entrance, a human saying they should rest the dogs. The wolves panted and ripped up the meat the humans threw at them. Hige felt his stomach rolling in disgust at the scene.

Tsume looked livid at the scene. "_Start talking mister" _He snarled at Zali.

"_The train makes a quick stop. It gives us and the humans a chance to eat. It's the only way we can make a living here. Work for them and they feed us"_

_"Scratching each other's backs" _Hige said softly. "_Just like you Tsume _and Bri, _you _two_ used to do the same thing"_

_"We might have used them but we were never used by them!" _Tsume snapped and Bri growled softly at Hige's words.

"_You're opinion doesn't change a damn thing" _Zali said.

The wolves started moving again and one grey wolf started lagging.

"_Gramps is in serious trouble!" _Hige explained and Bri gasped loudly.

The old wolf collapsed, not getting up when the humans cracked their whips at him more ferociously. The other wolves stopped, staring at the old wolf. Zali didn't show any emotion on his face at the sight of one of his pack members dying.

Zali whipped his head around to the loading area's entrance and the others turned as well. There stood Kiba, his hair bristling in anger. He morphed into a wolf and ran up the ramp. Zali gasped and jumped down, standing in front of Kiba.

Zali morphed into a wolf and they jumped at each other, Zali trying to hold Kiba down. Men ran to help Zali, forgetting about the dead wolf.

The others simply stared at the scene, dumbfounded. They joined the other pack for the burial of the old wolf, Bri stood closer to Tsume as that bastard male was there. She and Tsume were talking now as if they hadn't just been ignoring each other.

Kiba was leaning against a gravestone, holding his injured shoulder. "_I thought I told you not to interfere" _Zali said to him, "_We have our own way of doing things here"_

_"Living like a down and out bunch of strays, clinging to this disgusting place and doing what you do. How can you call that life?!" _Kiba yelled at him, anger rolling off him in waves.

"_What the hell do you know about it?" _ Zali yelled back, both wolves narrowing their eyes at each other.

"_You're pathetic_" Kiba snarled at him.

Zali just turned back. "_You kids are still young_" He said in a soft tone, staring at the rising sun.

The group turned back, Hige helped Kiba stand up. By the time they made it back to where they were staying, Kiba had passed out. They laid him on the ground and Toboe started putting herbs on Kiba's cuts with Bri.

"_This should hopefully help his wounds heal faster" _Toboe said and Bri nodded.

"_Typical. He never thinks first. Damn Kiba" _Hige complained, annoyed that Kiba was injured.

"_He couldn't watch that, without doing something" _Toboe said, defending Kiba.

"_Still he shouldn't have butted in. Let's just go, get out of here" _Tsume said, arms crossed over his chest.

"_We can't leave Kiba now_" Toboe and Bri said in unison.

"_Which is exactly why we should have left here yesterday_" Hige said.

"_What ever happened to living here, it's got more than we thought?" _Tsume asked Hige.

Hige made a sound and turned his head.

Kiba opened his eyes and tried getting up. Toboe held Kiba down. "_Wait, you're not going anywhere with these wounds and an empty stomach_"

"You sound like his mother pup. But he's right, you can't move until those wounds close over and heal" Bri told Kiba seriously, ignoring Toboe's indignant look at being called a mum.

"_Well, we know somebody here who has a stuffed gut_" Tsume said, looking pointedly at Hige.

"You guys ate some as well" Hige whined.

"Actually you ate more than the rest of us. Therefore, you have a stuffed gut. Here Kiba, I managed to save you some, you too Toboe" Bri said, sticking her tongue out at Hige and handing Toboe and Kiba some bread.

"It's not much but it's all I could save" She told them apologetically but they shook their heads.

"It's fine" They thanked her and ate some.

"_Cole was nice enough to bring us food and you guys turned up your noses. It was rude_. Now you're eating it so it's even ruder" Hige told them.

"_Did you have a nice time on your little date?" _Tsume asked Hige.

"_I don't know, there was something 'bout her that seemed lonely" _He told them, scratching his cheek.

Kiba and Toboe finished off the bread quickly enough. Kiba struggled with tearing the hard bread so Bri helped him and placed the strips in his mouth. Hige could see that Kiba was embarrassed and laughed at him.

"_So what do we do? We gotta do something" _The pup asked.

"_Ooh like impose on Cole's hospitality for a while?" _Hige asked, leaning forward excitedly.

"_No like you getting us something to eat._ A bite of bread isn't much to sustain us. _By yourself_"Tsume snapped at the wolf.

"_By myself?!" _ He whined and Tsume glared at him, "_Alright I'm going" _He said and stood up, putting his hands in his hoodie pocket, huffing angrily.

He walked along the streets, trying to catch whiff of something edible. He walked closer to the graveyard and shook off the bits of snow that fell on him. Suddenly, he spotted something poking out of the ground. He grabbed it and pulled it out of the snow, looking excitedly at the thing that dangled from his hand before he realised what it was.

It was only a stuffed toy. He gave a sigh and threw it over his shoulder.

"_If it was really that easy to find food, I guess Zali's pack wouldn't be doing what they do now would they?" _He mumbled to himself, sticking his hands back in his pockets. He kept walking before stopping as the most delicious smell wafted towards him.

"_Alright! I smell fresh mutton!" _He exclaimed, running towards the smell. He stopped and let out a whoop of joy and bent down to pick it up.

The minute he pulled it upwards, he heard the sound of metal hitting metal and looked up startled as he looked out through iron bars.

"_Oh crap!" _He yelled and tried kicking the bars, trying to pry them apart.

He morphed back into his wolf form and tried to bend the bars before stopping and whining.

"_Ow, my fangs are way too delicate for this" _Hige said as he rubbed his jaw.

Hige looked up as he heard the sounds of somebody walking towards him. It was that bastard that had tried to rape Bri and two others. Although this guy had tried to do that to Bri, Hige couldn't help but feel relieved at his presence.

"_Boy, am I glad to see you guys" _He said.

"_So even today, wolves get stuck in traps like this" _The bastard laughed.

"_Haha yeah, am I ever embarrassed" _Hige chuckled nervously.

"_Well that's what happens when you get all cocky" _The man on the bastard's left said.

Hige stopped laughing, a little bit shocked at the man's comment.

"_I'm sorry, so you think maybe you can open this now?" _Hige asked, holding the bars in front of him.

"_What do you think? Should we help the kid out?" _The bastard asked the two men next to him.

"_These little brats keep meddling in our business. They've been trouble from the start" _The last man butted in, glaring at Hige.

Hige's shoulders drooped slightly. Damn, these guys were frustrating. He heard a rumbling noise and looked up. A orange machine was heading towards him. He turned back to the three men and spoke frantically, "_Look I'm sorry! C'mon let me out! What's your problem? Are you just gonna stand there and watch me die?!"_

_"Why should I? You stuck your nose where it don't belong. This here's our turf" _The bastard replied, smirking at Hige.

Hige growled in anger. "_Is that right? Well I wouldn't want any help from a bunch of old dogs anyway!" _

_"What?!" _The bastard snarled.

"_You're not wolves, you're not even dogs! You're lower than humans" _Hige exclaimed.

Suddenly, the bastard's hand shot through the bars and lifted Hige into the air. His other hand turned into a fist and connected with Hige's stomach, hard.

Hige groaned in pain and he passed out before he even made contact with the cold, hard ground.

* * *

By the time he woke up, he was in the back of the orange truck. He stood up, his stomach twinging slightly in pain. He noticed the two humans that sat in the front of the truck.

"_Hey! C'mon! Look back here!" _He shouted as he shook the bars.

All of a sudden, the truck started swerving and it soon lost control, falling to its side.

Hige grunted as he hit the bars and the ground hard. He looked up and saw Tsume, Kiba, Toboe and Bri looking down at him.

"_Dammit, do you guys always have to be so rough?" _he asked them, sitting up.

"_Do you know how lucky you are to be alive?" _Toboe scolded him, placing his hands on his hips.

"Don't be such a pansy Hige" Bri said with a smile.

"_Come on you can get out of here yourself right?" _Tsume asked Hige.

"_Yeah but you know, that barbaric stuff really isn't my thing" He said, closing one eye._

Kiba moved towards the cage and started pulling the bars apart, making a hole for Hige to get through.

One of the humans opened the door and started shouting at them but the pack leader from before (Was is name Zali or something?) jumped at them, still in his wolf form. He bit down on the human's arm, causing him to drop the gun.

The wolves ran off, Zali leading them to the pipe. The pipe was small, causing the males to crouch down. They walked out of the pipe and into a massive one.

"_This is as far as I plan to go. From here on out, you're all on your own" _Zali told them.

"_You're not coming with us?" _Kiba asked. "_You're gonna keep living here?"_

"_I don't know if the place we found really was Paradise but I believe that there are some that can make it and there are some that can't" _Zali said. "_It's time for you to find out if the real Paradise does exist at the end of this road"_

_"You know that you don't seem like much of a wolf" _Tsume told him

"_Tsume" _Kiba said warningly.

"_You know a wolf protects his own. It's natural for him to have another pack" _He continued.

"_You're right. I really have fallen" _Zali said, looking over his shoulder at them.

Kiba started running and the others followed him.

* * *

It had been two days since they left Zali in the pipe. They walked through a dense forest, surrounded by huge trees and overgrown plants.

They trudged along, twigs breaking under their feet. Toboe stopped a frown on his face.

"_C'mon runt, hurry up! Or we'll leave you behind" _Hige called to Toboe, the others not stopping.

Toboe ran after them and asked them, "_Hey don't you find it strange that we're in a forest but there aren't any animals around?"_

Hige sighed, "_Tell me something, you do know you're a wolf right? Think about it genius, they probably ran off when they saw us"_

_"Oh right" _

"_That's the problem with taking city kids to the woods" _Hige said, causing Toboe to glare at him.

"_I was thinking, I haven't smelt that flower at all since we left the city gates. I wonder if this really is the right way" _

_"You wanna give us a clue here?" _Tsume asked Kiba.

"_Sure"_

_"Where exactly are we headed?"_

_"To Paradise" _Kiba replied, staring in front.

"_And just what in the hell is guiding you there?" _Tsume asked him, irritated.

"_I'm going on instinct" _

Suddenly, lasers were fired in the sky and explosions boomed. They all looked up, seeing the lasers being fired at a small ship.

"_Argh! What's going on?" _Toboe asked, clinging onto Bri's arm.

"_Well they're really going at it_" Hige exclaimed

Kiba stared, a small gasp escaping his mouth. "_She's there"_ And with those words he started walking off.

"_Hold on! There's nothing to do with us! Stay out of it" _Tsume yelled at Kiba.

Kiba paid no heed to his words and kept walking. "_I can feel it"_

_"Feel what?" _Hige asked him, mouth opened in shock.

"_I'm not sure...but it's so familiar" _Kiba murmured, eyes glued on the ship. He turned back to the others, snarling at them. "_Come on, don't you guys feel anything at all?!"_

He started running towards the ship, leaving the others to stare at his back.

"_Kiba!" _Tsume yelled after him before running after him. Bri followed him.

Toboe turned to Hige. "_Can you feel anything?" _Hige shook his head.

_"That guy is hopeless" _Hige told him and they ran after Tsume and Bri.

They were all running, each as clueless as the next at what was happening. All of a sudden, they saw the ship get hit by a laser and it plummeted to the ground.

Something fell away from the ship, twinkling brightly. Kiba increased his pace, causing the others to fall behind.

"_Kiba!" _Tsume and Bri yelled after him.

"_Wait for us!"_ Toboe panted, falling behind the others.

Hige looked up, shock filling his face. "_That scent" _He murmured.

The ship finally made contact with the ground, resulting in a huge explosion that echoed throughout the forest. None of the wolves were paying attention; they just stared at the twinkling shape that smelled so familiar.

Bri widened her eyes, "The flower girl". The others nodded their heads, remembering the flowery scent from Freeze City. The twinkling shape floated, heading towards the top of a gigantic cliff that stood before them.

They started scaling the wall, jumping from ledge to ledge.

Hige sniffed, "_It's faint, but it's up there alright" _

Kiba scaled the cliff furiously, his eyes filled with determination.

"_Why are you so worked up?" _Tsume asked him.

"_Urgh, its got the scent of a noble mixed in there too" _Hige whined, causing Tsume to stare at him.

_"A noble?" _He whispered. He frowned and stared up at Kiba.

"_Hey Kiba, um I've got this fluttery feeling in my chest. Is that what you meant?" _Toboe asked Kiba, looking unsure.

Kiba nodded, "_Let's go"_

They finally made it to the top, only to be greeted with the sight of forest, overrun by gnarled trees with their roots showing.

They walked, following the flowery scent. Toboe's cheeks were flushed red. "_I don't know why but my heart is pumping and I feel all warm and tingly inside"_

_"This is the cool feeling you get, before pouncing on a pretty babe" _Hige chuckled, only to whine in pain when Bri smacked him on the back of his head, jumping to reach it.

"Excuse me, girl here. I don't wanna hear about what you feel when you a see a girl" She snapped at him. "It smells amazing though" she murmured, referring to the smell.

Tsume looked scathingly at Hige_, "Don't let your guard down. But there's a shiver up my spine as well"_

Kiba was silent, looking straight ahead. The forest started thinning and they were greeted by the sight of water.

They reached an open field with bright green grass and flowers blooming everywhere. A lake stretched in front of them, seemingly going on forever. A huge rock was suspended above the lake, connected to a cliff. Water rushed down into the lake.

"_Woah"_ Toboe said, awed like the others at the sight.

They noticed a girl sitting on a rock, her feet in the water. She was wearing a white suit and had gold jewellery around her wrists and neck. She had short pink hair and big magenta eyes. She looked over at them and they all gasped.

"_It's her, it's really her" _Hige whispered.

"_My heart just skipped a beat" _Toboe exclaimed.

"Me too pup, me too" Bri mumbled as she stared at the girl in front of them.

"_Who is that?" _ Tsume asked warily.

The girl jumped off her rock, standing ankle deep in the water. Kiba started forward, ignoring their warnings.

He walked towards her until he was standing in front of her, his feet in the water.

"_Cheza" _He said softly, causing the girl to blink in shock before smiling gently. She leaned forward and started petting Kiba, who had reverted into his wolf form.

She knelt in the water and hugged Kiba, her arms wrapped around his neck. "_We meet…at last"_ She whispered to him.

The others were staring at the scene with dreamy expressions.

"_I wanna be held like that" _Toboe sighed.

"_…Can that be her?" _Tsume asked.

"_Yeah, its her. That's the flower maiden" _Hige said dreamily.

"She's gorgeous" Bri whispered.

They walked back towards the forest, Kiba and Cheza in front holding hands. Cheza turned around.

"_This way! This way!" _She called to them, waving her free arm in the air.

"_That's Cheza alright. That's the flower maiden" _Hige said.

"_She's a flower and a maiden? That's weird" _Toboe said, looking at Cheza and Kiba's retreating forms.

"_I heard that the nobles that had too much time on their hands made her from flowers in a lab somewhere" _Hige explained.

They walked across a bridge, over a river. "_A human made from flowers? Give me a break, you really believe that?" _Tsume snorted.

"That's so strange. Who knew you could make girls from flowers?" Bri asked rhetorically.

"_C'mon she's standing right there isn't she?" _Hige smiled.

"_Yeah and she smells wonderful as well. Like a flower" _Toboe sighed.

"_Smell or no smell, I don't trust any of this" _Tsume said.

Bri sighed, "Can you stop being suspicious for at least two minutes? Kiba trusts her and he doesn't seem the type to trust easily" Tsume growled at her.

_"Didn't your heart skip a beat too?" _Toboe asked Tsume.

"I agree with Bri. _I believe it and as crazy as it seems, Kiba led us to this place on pure instinct or whatever you wanna call it right? Even if it some big coincidence, at least it feels like we're finally one step closer" _Hige said truthfully.

"_It sure does" _Toboe said.

Tsume still glared warily at Cheza's back.

"_Well either way you look at it, she's really not my type at all. It's such a bummer" _Hige continued.

"Are you sure it's not coz Kiba's got his paws all over her and you don't wanna deal with the competition?" Bri said teasingly, causing the others to burst out laughing. Hige huffed and glared at Bri.

They kept walking, following Kiba and Cheza. They eventually made it to a ruined castle and started walking through it.

"_This one has been waiting for you" _Cheza told Kiba, her hand still in Kiba's and the other on her heart. "_This one was born right here, in this place for that reason"_

She stopped, letting go of Kiba's hand and running through an open room, its door missing. "_Everybody, this one's home!" _She exclaimed, her voice ringing like bells throughout the room. She stopped, staring at the abandoned lab in front of her. Kiba stood behind her.

"_Oh my, there is no one here anymore" _Cheza mumbled. "_They, they all withered and died"_

She bent her legs and hugged her knees, still standing on her feet. "_This one is the only one left" _She said, staring at the lab.

"_Kiba! We're in serious trouble. I smell humans all over the place"_ Hige exclaimed.

"_I think we're surrounded" _Toboe said.

Tsume ran in with Bri on his heels. He stopped and started glaring at Cheza's back. She whirled around, tears in her eyes and Tsume recoiled. Kiba stood in front of Cheza protectively.

"_No it wasn't her" _He said, answering Tsume's silent accusations.

"_C'mon guys! We don't have time for this. We have to escape" _Toboe yelled at the two.

"_What do you mean escape? We're surrounded! Where the hell are we supposed to go?" _Hige shouted, panicking.

Cheza stood up and started walking towards a shattered wall. Kiba ran up to her and held her hand.

"_Where are you going?" _Tsume shouted after him.

"_Didn't you hear what we said?" _Hige yelled.

The two just kept walking, not listening to them.

"_What do we do?" _Toboe asked worriedly.

_"We don't have much of a choice"_ Tsume growled and ran out.

"_Urgh, Kiba's lost it this time" _Hige complained and followed Tsume.

They ran outside and split up, attacking the soldiers that surrounded them. Hige bit and swiped, causing blood to spurt out and cover himself and the ground in scarlet.

More soldiers came and he attacked them before running towards the others. They started running towards a sheltered place and tried to dodge the ricocheting bullets.

"_Man, look at all those guys!" _Hige exclaimed.

They ran forward, dodging more bullets. They managed to attack more soldiers in the process and found Kiba and Cheza standing in front of two soldiers. Tsume quickly pulled out some flashy looking knife and stabbed them.

Hige started dusting of his hands, clapping them together in the process. They all leapt down, running towards Kiba. Bri rushed over to Cheza. She helped her up, smiling up at her and ruffled Toboe's hair, laughing when he tried to slap her hands away.

"Are you two hurt?" Bri asked them concernedly. The two shook their heads and she smiled wider.

"_We're totally screwed! They've got it completely blocked off!" _Hige exclaimed to Kiba.

"_What do you we do? If we left her here, we could've gotten away" _Tsume said, scorn in his voice.

Kiba whipped his head up and his eyes glinted dangerously, "_Forget it!" _He snarled at Tsume.

Bri shook her head. "God Tsume, you always have to bring shit up at the wrong time" Bri sighed, ignoring when Tsume growled at her.

More gunfire was heard and they all turned their heads. Cheza beckoned for Bri to follow her, who in turn beckoned the others.

It was a narrow corridor with barely any light streaming in. Cheza and Bri stopped when they heard the others running after them. "_This way"_ Cheza said.

The group kept walking when Bri stopped and gasped in pain. They all looked at her in concern as her leg was sliced up and bleeding heavily. Cheza gasped, tears in her eyes and moved to help her.

Bri shook her head. "It's okay, I got this. Go with the others, I'll catch up" she told her, looking at Kiba. He nodded and grabbed Cheza's hand, the others following reluctantly.

Tsume stayed behind and by the time he caught up with the others, Bri was in his arms blushing.

Bri huffed in annoyance and Hige looked at them, silently laughing before remembering the situation on hand.

Kiba ran forward across a platform, killing a shooter before signalling for the others to come. Cheza ran forward, almost gliding as she led them to a closed chamber, huge tree roots covering the walls and ground.

"_What the hell?" _Hige yelled, staring at the chamber. They were completely trapped.

"_There's no use! There's no way we can get out of here!" _Toboe exclaimed, looking at the roots in despair.

"_We could always try surrendering" _Hige offered, "_I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" _He said, raising his hands up at Tsume's glare.

"Wait" Bri murmured, causing the others to look at her.

"Cheza" She breathed and Tsume snapped his head up just as Cheza called out "_This way"_

There was a tunnel in the middle of some roots and Cheza stood there, waiting for them to follow her.

"_Where did that giant hole come from?" _Toboe wondered.

Kiba started forward and joined Cheza in the tunnel. All of a sudden, a growling noise came and it sounded like the _tree_ had made it. Toboe flinched in fear.

"_The wall just moved!"_

_"Hey, I'm not complaining. Let's get out of here" _Hige said, following Kiba and Cheza. Toboe followed.

As Tsume finally made his way to the others, carrying his girlfriend (aka Bri), they ran out the tunnel into the dusk that was starting to cover the sky.

As they ran along the rocky cliff, Cheza was lagging behind and when they reached a sharp turn she almost fell down the cliff face, turning sideways at Toboe's yell.

"_She can tell?"_

_"Well sure I guess, she's a Flower Maiden after all" _Hige told him, looking thoughtfully at Cheza.

"_Yeah but how?" _Toboe asked curiously.

_"She uses her antennae, how else?"_

_"She doesn't have any of them!" _Toboe said to him.

"_I know you can't see them or anything but I bet they're there"_

Toboe turned and looked at Cheza. "_I wonder why she's on edge, when she's around us I mean. Why?"_

_"Because you're all on edge around her, that's why" _Kiba interjected, turning to face them.

"_Who the hell wouldn't be on edge? She's not a human and she's not a wolf. Or even a flower. How are we ever supposed to trust something like that? And even more so because a noble created it" _Tsume snorted.

Bri twisted out of Tsume's arms, landing on her feet. She limped over to Cheza and took her hand. "We're supposed to trust her. She's the one that's the key to Paradise right? She hasn't done anything to betray us and I bet she won't. I trust her for that" Bri smiled at Cheza, who smiled back and stroked Bri's hair.

The others looked at Bri, shocked at her open declaration and Tsume looked the most shocked. Hige sniggered at Tsume's face. They started walking again and Bri helped Cheza and Hige could see her beginning to limp slightly.

Hige turned when he heard sniffling and was surprised to see Cheza crying, looking at Bri's leg sadly. Bri smiled at the flower maiden and tried to stop Cheza from crying.

"This one is worried. Does it not hurt terribly?"

"I'm okay, I think the joy of meeting you and seeing you is helping me ignore the pain" Bri smiled.

"_So we're gonna take her with us?" _Tsume asked Kiba.

"_Yeah"_

_"What for?"_

_"Well, I don't see anything wrong with it. It would mean to leave her here and besides, I think it'd be kinda nice to have the smell of flowers all the time." _Toboe interjected.

"Plus I'd like to have another girl here. I'm surrounded by too much testosterone here" Bri laughed along with Cheza. Hige joined in as well.

"_Isn't that exactly what makes her a danger to us?" _Tsume scathingly asked, causing Kiba to turn around. "_If she stinks up the place when we're walking around, its as good as giving away our location"_

_"A human sense of smell isn't that sensitive" _Kiba said.

"_My eyes tell me she's trouble. What good is she to us anyway?"_

_"_Tsume, do you seriously not list -" Bri interjected before getting cut off by Kiba,

"_Cheza is more important to us than anything else and if you're a wolf Tsume, you should know this" _

"_Sorry but I don't"_

_"She's gonna get us to Paradise" _Kiba snarled.

"_I'm so sick of hearing that word"_

Frustrated, Bri limped over to them and stood between them, her eyes blazing and growling deep in her throat. "SHUT THE FUCK UP! THE BOTH OF YOU! I'M SO SICK AND TIRED OF YOU ARGUING! CAN'T YOU LET IT REST FOR TEN MINUTES?!" She shouted at them.

Hige looked at Bri dumbfounded, who knew she could get so angry? 'Damn I better not get her seriously angry' He thought to himself.

Tsume and Kiba looked at her angrily and they both opened their mouths to retort when they were interrupted by the sound of Cheza singing.

All of the wolves started getting drowsy and Toboe backed up into a wall, "_All of a sudden, I'm feeling really sleepy." _He murmured and lay on the ground.

Tsume stumbled towards a tree. "_Dammit Toboe, don't fall asleep!" _He growled at him

"_Too late. My body's already gone cold" _The pup murmured and fell asleep.

"_What's going on?" _Tsume asked Kiba.

"_I have no idea what's going on, I just…" _Kiba trailed off.

"So tired" Hige mumbled, struggling to stay awake. He eventually succumbed and fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

Hige started dreaming about being in his own version of Paradise, which was being surrounded by gorgeous babes and mouth-watering meals. His dream was so vivid that when he woke up, the first thing out of his mouth was "Where are the babes?" Thankfully, only Toboe was awake by then so he didn't have to face Bri's wrath.

They snuck into the nearby town, wary of the soldiers that roamed the streets. Hige walked along the streets, casually looking at each vendor before swiping something and running back to the meeting place.

The runt was holding some hideous fur coat, saying that he got it for Cheza because she might get cold on the trip. Bri got some extra clothing to get out of her bloodstained ones. Bri left them, mumbling something about changing.

By the time Bri came back, she was changed in her new clothes and Hige and Toboe were still arguing about their choices when they heard a rustling sound from a nearby alley. They stared at it before leaving, keeping their eyes and ears open.

As they walked they kept hearing the rustling sounds from behind them. "_I heard something from the cats here, they said that there's a ghost wandering around" _Toboe whispered to them.

"_Did you say a ghost?" _Hige asked, looking over his shoulder.

Toboe and Bri copied him, seeing an old woman with a walking stick. "_Is she following us?"_ Hige asked, staring at the old woman. Something about her seemed off.

"_Yeah" _Toboe said.

They kept walking and gradually started running, the hairs on their necks standing straight and goosebumps appearing on their skin. They skidded into an alley and looked behind them. Surely enough, the old lady was behind them.

"_Run!" _Hige yelled fearfully. They ran towards the others, out of breath. "_Wow, that was rough" _Hige panted.

"_You _three _sure took a long time" _Kiba said.

"Here's some food" Bri said, chucking him the food she and Hige managed to grab.

"_We picked up some other things as well" _Toboe said, walking over to Cheza with the coat.

"_What the hell do you plan to do with that?" _ Tsume asked him.

"_What do you think, it's a present" _Toboe told him and placed the coat gently on Cheza's shoulders.

Cheza looked upset at the present.

"_You don't like it huh?" _Toboe asked sadly.

"_Sure looks that way" _Kiba told him.

Hige placed the pink boots before Cheza, who looked at them and placed her feet in them. She got up and laughed.

"_You like them huh?" _

Cheza giggled and danced around, her laughter ringing like bells. She turned and looked in front, gasping and stopping.

"Cheza" Kiba and Bri whispered before turning to look at where Cheza was staring.

"It's that old woman again" Bri mumbled.

"_Who are you?" _Cheza asked.

The old woman started walking, her cane tapping on the forest floor. She kept walking and stopped when Kiba stood in front of Cheza.

"_You are wolves" _She murmured.

The others gasped but Kiba narrowed his eyes. "_Old lady, who are you?"_

The old woman took of her sunglasses and raised her eyes to look at them. They all gasped in shock, this woman had the same coloured eyes as Cheza.

"_Tell us, who are you?" _Kiba asked.

"_Hanambi tole* is what they called us" _The old woman said.

"_This one can tell from your scent but you're not like this one" _Cheza said softly.

"_That is true; you are not like my kind. You are a perfect creation" _

_"Perfect creation?"_ Kiba asked.

"_You must know, I have been waiting for you for a long time"_ The old lady said, addressing Cheza.

"_I guess she wasn't a ghost" _Toboe whispered to Hige.

Hige whipped his head to the side. "_That stench"_

_"It's them" _Said Kiba.

"_I got a feeling that we shouldn't hang around here any longer" _Tsume muttered, looking to the side.

The old woman and Cheza started moving quickly downhill, causing the others to follow.

"_Do you think its safe to go with her?" _Toboe asked.

"Too late pup, we already are" Bri told him.

"_If she's like Cheza, we shouldn't have to worry" _Hige said, "Hopefully" He added under his breath.

They followed them into a door, embedded in a hill of trees and flowers. They ran inside and the woman quickly shut the door. The woman sat on a stool and Cheza sat in front of her in a chair. The other wolves gathered around them, leaning on the walls except for Kiba, who stood next to Cheza.

The woman quickly started talking to Cheza, continuing their previous conversation. "_I felt them in my body, the terrible events that occurred and those Hanambi tole were the unfortunate and perfect ones, had no choice but to wither and die. I was fortunate enough to escape from the castle through the foot of the mountain. I stayed in hiding for a long, long time and before I knew it, I was left on my own. Even if you know nothing about yourself, I do. I know you very well indeed."_

_"All this time, this one was been asleep and waiting, waiting just for him" _Cheza said, smiling at Kiba.

"_The wolf seeks out the flower and the flower seeks out the wolf. And yet, no matter how you feel, you must not go with them" _The woman told Cheza.

"_But why?"_ Cheza asked.

"_It will only lead to destruction" _

_"Are you crazy?!" _Kiba asked her in disbelief.

"_I'm not talking to you" _The old woman snapped at him.

"_C'mon Cheza, let's go" _

He looked surprised when Cheza didn't move from her chair, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"_The faintest scent of flower can offer is all I have left now. And soon, you too will fade completely." _The old lady continued.

"_What should this one do?" _Cheza asked her.

_"You have the ability to sustain me, the life of a Hanambi tole. Stay with me here" _

_"Cheza don't listen to her" _Kiba said, his voice rising.

"_Wolf, just what precisely do you hope to achieve by taking this precious girl with you?" _The old woman asked him snappily, glaring at him with magenta eyes.

_"To get to Paradise. We're going to Paradise" _Cheza said, causing the woman to look at her.

The atmosphere was thick and heavy, everybody on edge with this old lady and the faint scent of flowers that wafted from her, succumbing to the overpowering scent of Cheza.

"_Shhh, be quiet" _Tsume whispered.

Toboe, Hige and Tsume peered out the window. The scientist was there, walking outside the cabin. "_I smelled her outside the castle and I know I've seen her before. But I don't know where" _Hige said. He tried to think where he had seen her but his mind was blank. Oh well, it would probably come back to him later.

"_Now what?" _Tsume asked Kiba.

"_Let's go" _He replied, looking down at Cheza, "_Cheza, let's go" _

Toboe, Hige and Tsume snuck out of the cabin and jumped to crouch on some tree branches. When the woman stepped beneath them, they jumped down which caused her to gasp.

"_You're those boys I saw earlier. What are you doing? What's going on" _she asked them.

All of a sudden, they heard a noise and spun around. Kiba, Bri and Cheza stood there, staring at them. "_Cheza" _The scientist breathed, staring at the flower girl.

Kiba grabbed Cheza and leapt onto a ledge, transforming into a wolf when he landed for a split second. The woman had already seen his transformation and gasped. Bri joined him but kept her human form while the others followed her.

They ran towards the town, Cheza looking back every so often in the direction of the cottage. When they reached it, Cheza started slowing down to a halt.

"_She's crying. Soon she will wither away" _

_"Do you mean the old lady?" _Kiba asked her.

"_Kiba, can this one stay with you? Is it alright if this one stays with you?"_

_"Cheza you have to stay with us" _Kiba replied. Cheza's eyes started to fill with tears and she turned to Hige.

"_Hige?" _She asked him.

He laughed, "_Sure why not? When you're on a journey, the more the merrier"_

_"Toboe?" _

The pup giggled and smiled.

"Bri?"

"Of course Cheza, its great to have you around" Bri told her, smiling.

"_Tsume?"_

He sighed. _"Fine you can tag along, if it gets us to where we're going I can put up with you"_

They joined the crowd in the main street, Kiba gently placing a pink coat over Cheza. The scientist was near them, searching for Cheza.

They walked back to the cabin and waited for Cheza.. When Cheza came out she had tears in her eyes but nobody asked her what was wrong. She held hands with Kiba, staring off at the distance together.

"_Did any of you tell her about Paradise?" _Tsume asked them.

"_I didn't" _Hige replied.

Toboe and Bri shook their heads when Tsume looked at them.

They simply shrugged and followed Kiba and Cheza, continuing their journey.

* * *

They remained near the city, staying in the forest. They kept sneaking back into the city to steal food and provisions and to keep an eye on the soldiers.

They were roaming the streets one night when they spotted the wolf's hunter dog. The dog bristled at the sight of them, growling lowly.

"So he's here as well huh?" Bri murmured to Tsume.

Cheza stopped and walked to the dog.

"_We have a friend. He's in here"_

She skipped over to the dog, kneeling in front of it and outstretching her hand. Just when she was about the pet the dog, Kiba put his hand on her shoulder.

Cheza turned and looked at him, "_It is alright"_

_"You do not know what you are yet, is that right? There is some wolf inside of you too"_

The dog looked shocked and when Cheza reached to pet it, it backed away.

"_You were alone your whole life were you not?" _

She gazed into the dog's cobalt eyes, searching its depths.

Footsteps were heard on the other side of the door. Kiba gasped and pulled Cheza away, just getting around the corner as the soldiers and scientist came out.

They were staying at the local junkyard, taking refuge in an old bus. The bus was rusted and battered, with holes in the roof and sides.

"_This should be a perfect place to hide" _Said Hige excitedly.

_"Once we catch wind of what they're up to, we'll be right back" _Tsume said.

"_Cheza you stay here with Toboe _and Bri" Kiba told her.

"_Leave it to _us" Toboe replied excitedly.

Hige, Tsume and Kiba ran off in opposite directions. Hige walked around, trying to find a way out but he couldn't find anything. He heard snippets of human's conversations as he walked past them but they talked about nothing important.

He took note of the soldiers that surrounded the area. "Better to get out at night I guess" He huffed and started walking back to the junkyard.

"_What took you so long? Hey welcome back" _Toboe said, just as Hige returned.

"_How did it go?" _Kiba asked Hige

"_They've really got us surrounded this time. So we'll have to move at night" _Hige replied, smiling.

Kiba nodded and turned towards the others. "_There's a place not far from here that the humans call the Forest of Death"_

_"Forest of Death? That doesn't sound good" _Toboe shivered.

"_They say if you get lost in it, you never get out" _Kiba continued.

"Humans and their dramatics" Bri muttered.

Hige snorted, "_Big deal, with our noses it'll be a piece of cake. Am I right?" _

_"Right" _Kiba nodded, smiling.

Tsume walked in, a smirk on his face.

"_How'd it go?" _Hige asked.

"_I found an escape route that will be perfect" _Tsume replied, having heard their plan.

"_Perfect. That settles it, we're leaving tonight" _Kiba replied.

"_All right! We can finally get out of here" _Toboe exclaimed.

* * *

Night came quickly and the others were getting ready to leave. They heard the soldiers staying near the bus, trying to be discreet.

"Change of plans, Hige and Tsume you get rid of the soldiers at their base and we will go and sneak through town. We'll meet up outside the Forest of Death" Kiba told them and everybody nodded.

Tsume and Hige dropped into the soldiers' base and swiftly attacked them, only muffled gasps escaping the humans. After they got rid of them all, they made their way back to the others, their voices drifting towards them.

"_Where are they?" _Toboe asked.

"_They're here" _Kiba replied.

"_Huh? Where?"_

The others landed behind them.

"_Sorry we're late" _Tsume said, not seeming sorry at all.

"_Operation successful" _Hige said, giving a thumbs up, sniggering. Suddenly, a gunshot echoed towards them and Bri swore loudly.

"Damn old man! I thought his dog would have delayed him for longer" She snarled as the others split up.

"_You damn wolves! You'll never fool me again!" _He yelled and fired another shot.

Kiba turned around and noticing that the hunter was aiming a shot at her, he ran over and stood over her protectively. The shot got fired and hit Kiba in the shoulder.

"_Kiba" _Cheza whispered.

The man moved to fire another shot but he was out of bullets. He cursed and fumbled to refill his rifle, giving Kiba and Cheza plenty of time to run into the Forest of Death.

They heard the man yell and fire shots into the air.

The Forest of Death was a forest filled with gnarled trees that stood high with their roots covering the ground. The trees blocked out every bit of sunlight, causing it to be quite dark under the thick canopy of tree branches.

"_Man this place is depressing" _Hige whined.

"It has a depressing name as well_" _Bri said.

_"I thought forests were supposed to be alive, you know?" _He continued, ignoring Bri.

"_It's called the Forest of Death remember?" _Toboe told him.

"_That's the reason the humans can't follow us in here" _Kiba interrupted.

"_well we don't have to rely on compasses or anything but still shouldn't there at least be some animals? You know like a rabbit or a fox?" _Hige asked.

"_Rabbit huh? In other words, you're hungry" _Toboe chuckled.

"_Sue me alright?"_ Hige grumbled.

"_We might come across a town once we reach the end of this forest. Just hang in there until then" _Kiba said softly.

"_If we make it out of here alive that is" _Tsume muttered, kicking a human skull.

Toboe yelped and stepped back before yelping again. A huge bug flew towards the air, its wings fluttering frantically.

It flew around them in circles before flying straight for Toboe, causing him to yell and close his eyes. Tsume caught the bug before it hit Toboe in the face.

"_There are plenty of bugs though"_ Tsume said, looking at the bug as it angrily chittered at him.

Toboe sighed in relief. "_Thanks Tsume"_

_"I've never seen a bug like this. Here" _Tsume said, holding it in front of Hige.

Hige groaned and stepped back, his stomach rolling at the sight of the disgusting insect.

"_Here. You're hungry aren't ya? Chow down" _Tsume asked, his face and voice devoid of any emotion.

"_Why the hell should I?" _Hige asked, staring at the bug in disgust. Just looking at it made him want to spew.

"_Because you have the strongest stomach right?" _Toboe asked.

"_Eat it" _Tsume said commandingly.

"_I ain't your taster. And how come you're giving me orders? You're not our leader on anything. Right?" _Hige said, looking around Tsume to look at Kiba.

Kiba only stared back. Hige grunted, looking around desperately.

He grabbed the bug off Tsume, "_I know let's give it to Cheza!" _He said excitedly. "_I bet you're hungry right?" _He held the bug in front of Cheza.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you" Bri told Hige. He ignored her and kept walking.

Kiba moved forward and slapped the bug out of Hige's hands, causing it to fall on the ground with a big cut on its neck.

"_Cheza does not eat bugs" _He growled.

"_Well then, what should we feed her?"_ Hige groused defensively.

"_This one doesn't eat, anything" _Cheza spoke for the first time.

"_Not a thing?" _Hige asked, leaning forward.

"_Now that you mention it, I've never seen her eat a thing" _Tsume said from behind them.

"_She drank that water that one time" _Toboe said, turning towards Tsume.

"_This one drinks and basks" _Cheza replied.

"_Basks in what?" _Kiba asked and Cheza closed her eyes, tilting her head to the sky. "_But not here" _

"I get it" Bri whispered.

The others minus Kiba and Cheza turned to look at her.

"What?" Hige asked her.

"_Oh I get it. Sunlight_" Toboe murmured.

"_Makes sense. She is a flower" _Hige mumbled, finally getting what the others were hinting at.

They kept walking, making light conversation when Toboe lurched forward, and clutching his ankle.

They stopped to rest and Kiba looked at Toboe's ankle with Bri sitting next to the runt.

"_Well it's not sprained" _Kiba said and Bri sighed a breath of relief.

"_He can't even handle this little forest. Like I always say, you can't take city kids to the woods" _Hige said nonchalantly.

"Like you're any better when there's no food around" Bri told him and the two proceeded to bicker amongst themselves.

"_Do you think you can walk on it?"_ Kiba asked Toboe, ignoring the two arguing.

Toboe nodded and stood up. _"I'm okay, I can walk just fine_" He fell back with a wince.

"_Cheza?"_ Hige asked as she knelt next to Kiba.

She rubbed her hand over Toboe's ankle and smiled at him.

"_Wow thanks Cheza" _Toboe murmured.

"_Does that feel good?" _Hige asked

"_Mmhm, real good. The pain is just melting away" _Toboe replied.

Tsume walked away, being his normal moody self and Bri, like always, followed after him.

"_C'mon _you guys, _let Cheza pat you as well. It feels unbelievable" _Toboe called over to them

They kept walking after a while, their footsteps echoing throughout the gloomy forest.

"_This forest ain't so bad once you get used to it. Nothing to fight over and the best part is that there is no humans around. We've got it all to ourselves" _Hige said happily.

Bri just looked at him, her expression saying 'No shit Sherlock" but Hige ignored her, like he normally did.

"_Yeah and there's plenty of bugs we can eat" _Toboe replied.

"_Hah fat chance pal" _Hige said, sticking his nose in the air.

"_Then you better not complain when we don't share them with you" _Tsume said, staring in front of him.

"_I'll say it again, who the hell died and made you the leader?" _Hige yelled at him angrily.

"_Neither one of us is the leader, Hige. Ours just isn't the type of pack that has one" _Kiba replied from in behind them.

"_What kind of pack are we then?" _ Tsume asked, turning to look at Kiba.

"Tsume drop it" Bri whispered. He whirled to look at her, eyes blazing at her. He turned back to Kiba and still held his angry stance.

"_C'mon guys, it doesn't really matter does it? I know! When we all finally make it out of here, what's the very first thing you wanna do?" _Toboe asked, causing the others to look at him in disbelief.

"_What do you think?"_ Hige asked.

"_Eat as much as I can" _Tsume said.

"_Eat and sleep" _Kiba replied.

"Shower and all of the above" Bri said.

Toboe's stomach gurgled. "_Ah I guess you're right" _

_"You moron, isn't it obvious?" _Hige teased Toboe.

Cheza was breathing heavily and fell back onto Kiba, causing everybody to look at her in alarm and concern.

"_You must be exhausted. We'll rest a while" _Kiba told her.

"_It is alright, this one is fine" _Cheza whispered, smiling weakly.

Hige snapped his head up as he heard something that sounded familiar. Something like wings flapping.

"_A bird!" _He cried out.

"_Where?" _Toboe asked.

"_It's the Forest of Death, you must be seeing things" _Tsume rumbled.

"_No, I'm sure I heard the flapping of wings above us. It was from an owl. Which means we got meat!" _Hige exclaimed, running away excitedly.

"_Hey Hige! Get back here!" _Tsume barked at him but to no avail.

"Idiot, only thinking about his stomach" Bri sighed.

"_Damn it, stay here" _Tsume said to Toboe.

Hige payed no attention to Tsume, trying to chase the owl but when it stopped and started talking in riddles, he zoned out. Riddles weren't his thing. All of a sudden, a howl echoed throughout the forest, causing the owl to fly off.

Hige cursed but followed Tsume back to the others.

"_What's going on?" _Tsume asked.

"_Its Cheza, all of a sudden she just.." _Toboe trailed off.

Tsume came to kneel next to Bri, staring at Cheza.

"_What is that? Is she withering?" _Tsume asked.

"_She needs water, even sunlight will do" _Kiba barked at Tsume.

"_But there isn't any, the woods are too thick. And the ground, it's too dry. We'll never find any water out here" _Tsume said.

Kiba placed a hand on Tsume's shoulder. "_We have too" _He told Tsume, his eyes burning. "_We still have to try"_

Kiba picked up Cheza, carrying her piggy-back style and they moved on.

"_Which way?" _Toboe asked when they reached a fork in the path.

"_I say right" _Hige replied, sniffing the air.

"_Hige, do you smell any water there?" _Kiba asked.

"_No not a drop. But just standing here isn't helping us" _Hige said.

"_Here isn't helping, here isn't helping!" _A voice called from above and they looked up, startled. It was an owl with wide sapphire-coloured eyes. 'The same owl from before' Hige thought.

"_Damn thing came back" _Tsume growled.

"_It can't be helped if there's no light, it can't be helped if there's no water, it can't be helped if the flower is withering" _The owl said.

"_What did you say?!" _Kiba yelled at it.

"_Wait a minute, that owl probably lives here in this forest right? And if he does, don't you think he'll know where we can find water?" _Toboe asked, smiling excitedly.

"_Alright tell us, where's the closet place around here that has water?" _Kiba asked the owl.

The owl simply tilted its head at them.

"_Stupid bird! Cut the theatrics and spill it!" _Hige yelled at the owl.

"_Do you live here in this forest or not?" _Kiba asked, "_If you do then tell us! She has to have water now!"_

_"Kiba…Kiba…Kiba, who are you talking too?" _Cheza murmured.

"_To an owl Cheza" _He replied.

"_An owl?" _

_"Hoo" _The owl said.

"_C'mon! Isn't there any water in this forest?" _Kiba asked, his patience nearing its breaking point.

"_Go astray, go astray my good wolves. Answers always lie in confusion"_

The owl started to fly away and Bri growled in frustration. "Stop it with the dammed riddles already you annoying bird!"

"_We can't let it get away" _Tsume said as they started running after it, "_Dammit; he's the only lead we got"_

_"You will never find what you are looking for, if the searcher was too find what he searched for it would become a mere object" _The owl's words echoed around them but they could still see him. They followed him to the outside of a cave.

"_Hoo, the answer lies within the darkness, the answer lies within confined spaces. Only those who bravely enter will be rewarded" _The owl continued.

"_Another riddle?" _Toboe asked.

"_Bird brains want us to go inside the cave" _Hige replied, annoyed at that stupid bird. It was really starting to get on his nerves.

"_So does that mean there's water inside?"_

_"How should I know?" _Tsume replied.

Kiba had already started walking towards the cave.

"_Hey don't go in there! Are you gonna believe what some old owl tells you? This whole thing stinks" _Hige exclaimed, grabbing Kiba's shoulder.

"_You tell me where we can find water then. Can you do that Hige?" _Kiba growled back.

Hige looked slightly hurt at his words. Kiba was starting to act like a dick.

"_At this point we don't have any other choice" _Kiba continued and walked into the cave, the others following reluctantly.

They walked through the darkness, unsure of where they were going.

"_We saw this thing a while ago didn't we?" _Hige asked.

"_You mean we've been going in circles?" _Toboe whined.

"_Stupid place is like a maze" _Tsume said, "_And to make matters worse, it all looks the same"_

_"We went left last time" _Kiba replied and started walking before tripping on a rock and nearly falling over, "_Damm it all" _

_"Just take it easy, will ya?" _Tsume snapped at him.

"_Kiba you're just tired, do you want me to carry her?" _Toboe asked.

"_Why? Do you think you can carry her? Do you think you can carry her?! Answer me!" _Kiba yelled at him. "_I'm fine so walk. We don't have time to take a rest!"_

"Kiba! Calm down and stop yelling like you're PMSing alright? The kid's trying to be nice and you're lashing out at him" Bri said, trying to calm him down.

"Shut up bitch" He snarled at her causing Tsume to growl at him.

"_Would you cut the crap? We can't trust your nose anymore, the scent of flowers has screwed it up" _

_"My nose is fine" _Kiba snapped at him.

"_Kiba…put Cheza down" _

_"Tsume, do you still not trust her?" _

_"With the way you've been acting, it's you we can't trust. As leader of a pack, you have to be calm and detached. And right now you don't have that. It's impossible to be right all the time you know?"_

_"Stay out of my way"_

The two males started growling at each other.

"_Is that a threat?" _Tsume snapped.

"_Guys cut it out" _Toboe said, stepping on something. He looked down and saw the skeleton of an animal.

"_It looks like…wait could this be an owl?" _He asked.

Suddenly the skeleton broke apart and a giant pill bug squirmed out and latched itself onto Hige's leg. He shook his leg and the bug hit a rock, squealing and curling into a ball.

The bug's squeal caused more bugs to pop out.

"_There's a million of them" _Toboe exclaimed fearfully.

One bug launched itself towards Tsume's face but he whacked it away to the ground. Cheza gasped and Toboe pulled the bug off her back, stepping on it.

More bugs launched at them and they started hitting them away, killing them almost instantly.

"_Kiba! Up here!" _Tsume called from a ledge.

"_Tsume!" _Kiba yelled, throwing Cheza up to him.

Tsume caught her and placed her gently on the ground.

He jumped down and joined the others. "_Are wolves gonna lose to a bunch of bugs?" _

"No way in hell_" _Bri smirked.

"_But I must say, we both like hanging around flowers" _Toboe said.

"_Nicely said Runt" _Hige laughed.

"_Here they come" _Kiba replied.

They all launched themselves at the bugs, ripping and biting the bugs. The bugs caused some damage to the wolves but nothing they couldn't handle. Hige snapped and battered the bugs away, causing the blood to splurt on his muzzle and in his fur.

"_Wait, we'll all go together. This one can be useful too" _

And with those words Cheza plunged down from her ledge. The bugs started attacking her with frenzy.

"_Cheza!" _The wolves cried in sync.

She started running forward, bugs hanging onto her.

"_This way"_ She whispered, falling downhill with some bugs.

"_Cheza!" _Kiba cried.

They followed her down and saw her lying down, a bug near her foot.

"_Cheza!" _Kiba yelled, lurching forward.

"_No wait" _Tsume said, placing his hand on Kiba's arm.

The bug sniffed at Cheza before turning around, heading towards a plant that had its 'mouth' wide open.

Some had their 'mouths' closed, bugs struggling to get out before dying.

"_Cheza" _Kiba whispered, placing his hand on Cheza's cheek.

"_Don't worry this one is fine" _She said smiling.

"_Thank goodness" _Kiba replied.

"_This one heard them, they said they were hungry"_

_"They're plants that eat bugs huh?" _Tsume asked.

"_I guess this means we were saved by Cheza's friends" _Hige said.

"The whole world's gone topsy-turvey huh?" Bri asked, wiping blood away from her face.

"_Hey guys! I see light! It's the way out!" _Toboe yelled, pointing.

They all ran and were greeted with an amazing sight.

"_There's water! And check it out there's moonlight as well" _Toboe shouted happily.

Toboe, Hige, Tsume and Bri ran towards the water, diving in. They fooled around and splashed each other, laughing and smiling.

Cheza stepped into the lake and the moonlight seemed to shine on her, causing her to glow brightly. They all stared at her, enchanted at the sight.

They all got out of water after some time and lay down, surrounding Cheza. Hige laughed at the sight of Tsume and Bri snuggled against each other. "Those two should just admit they have feelings for each other" He mumbled to himself. The tired wolves soon fell asleep, the moon shining down on them.

* * *

When they woke up, they started walking away from the lake. By midday, they had reached a small town amidst dust and rocks.

The town looked deserted like any other down and all they could see were men standing outside, looking warily at the newcomers. Until they caught sight of the girls.

Bri and Cheza walked forward, talking to one another. They laughed and smiled. The men started wolf-whistling at them and the girls ignored them, continuing their conversation.

"_Man, what a seedy looking town" _Hige exclaimed, laughing.

"_It's my kind of place" _Tsume replied.

"_I bet it is" _Kiba replied, smiling.

"_Smell the danger in the air, my blood's on fire" _

"_Me too, me too!" _Toboe exclaimed, showing his skinny arm.

Hige caught him in a headlock. "_Big talk for someone who's scared all the time. But that's not the reason why you're so fired up is it runt? For one thing tonight's…"_

_"Yeah, it's a full moon" _Kiba said.

Toboe managed to escape from Hige's grip. "_I know it's like that for us coz we get our strength from the full moon but what about Cheza? She looks like she's glowing too" _

The guys looked at the two girls backs, smiling.

"_Yeah, once a night on a full moon the flowers will hear the moon's call and in return to Paradise" _Kiba said, "_That's a legend I heard once"_

_"So, tonight you mean she'll…?" _Tsume asked, trailing off.

"_I'm not sure if it's tonight, we'll just have to wait a see"_

_"What? What's gonna happen?" _Toboe asked.

"_You're not saying Cheza's gonna bloom or something are you?" _Hige asked.

Cheza turned around, "_This one is excited too!" _

_"_I can make you more excited sweetheart" One guy called, walking towards them.

"Back off prick" Bri growled.

"Maybe I could get you excited baby doll"

"Or maybe I could do this" Bri snapped and lifted her foot, kicking the guy where the sun doesn't shine, hard.

"Don't call me baby doll. And we don't associate with scum like you" She snarled. "C'mon Cheza" She said, grabbing her hand.

The other guys were laughing at the scene. "You shouldn't have done that man, she's a spitfire" Hige called to him as they walked away.

As night began falling down, they found a secluded lake and Cheza stepped in, lifting her head to the full moon.

"_This is it" _Tsume said.

"_Yeah, right about now I feel like I could do anything" _Hige exclaimed.

"_We've all seen a full moon before but coz Cheza's here with us it seems different doesn't it? _Toboe asked.

"_Oh man I just wanna howl my head off_!" Tsume yelled, raising his arms into the sky.

"_Something's about to happen" _Kiba said, staring at Cheza.

Cheza started spinning in the water and the wolves ran around her in one huge circle.

They raised their heads to the sky, howling at the moon. Tsume was the lowest, Toboe the loudest and Bri the highest, her voice a twinkling soprano. They howled in unison until their voices started cracking.

They stopped after a while and just sat there, staring at the moon with Cheza.

Suddenly something happened and the ground beneath their feet started blooming with white flowers. Lunar flowers.

It led a pathway that went all the way to the rising sun and beyond. They stared at it in amazement.

"_It's the path to Paradise" _Hige whispered.

"_Is that really what it is?" _Tsume asked.

"_Amazing! It's amazing!" _Toboe cried out, eyes twinkling in the glow of the flowers.

Cheza started running along the path and the wolves followed her. They ran for ages, their paws kicking up some of the Lunar petals.

Suddenly, the sound of whirring filled the air and they looked to the sky, spotting a noble's ship. They all gasped when it landed close to them, Cheza's gasp the loudest.

The ship door opened slowly, adding to the suspense that hung around them. The wolves all looked suspicious and wary and Cheza looked scared. The door finally opened, revealing a tall man with long dark hair and a blue eye, the other hidden by an eye patch.

"_The wolves…it's been a long time" _He said the silkiest of all voices.

"_That stench, he's a noble?"_ Tsume asked.

"_What are you doing here?" _Kiba snarled.

"_Was your little dream pleasant? The one where you were going to Paradise?" _The man asked, walking towards them.

"_What?" _Kiba asked in disbelief.

"_The time has not yet come for that, return to me Cheza" _He said, causing the girl to step back, shaking her head fearfully.

"_Get out of our way!" _Kiba snarled, running at the man as a wolf.

"_It is futile" _The man said and suddenly Kiba hit an unknown force, causing him to be blown back but he luckily landed on his feet.

A laser was fired from the ship, right at Kiba. He jumped out of the way and the resulting light blinded everybody.

Toboe just managed to clear his eyes from the blinding light when a laser was fired at him. He didn't manage to move quickly enough and got blasted into the air by the laser, landing a couple of meters away.

"_Toboe!"_ Hige yelled, running towards Toboe. A second laser came and hit Hige, causing him to fall onto the ground near Toboe, blood staining his fur. He could feel his eyes drooping and before giving into the darkness he heard an unearthly cry, that could only be from Cheza.

* * *

He tried to mumble something to her but he fell into the darkness and blacked out. By the time he woke up it was already morning and all of them moves back to the city, dragging their feet in the dirt.

They found an empty warehouse and drifted off to sleep again, their wounds healing slowly.

By the time Kiba had woken up, so had the others, looking as miserable as they felt.

"_C'mon guys, I know we've been through a lot by why all the moping?" _Hige asked in a desperate attempt to cheer everyone up.

"_I couldn't sleep, that's why" _Toboe said.

"_Yeah well, neither could I" _Hige shot back.

"_You slept like a dead man as always" _Tsume retorted.

"_Look I'm just as shocked and frustrated as the rest of you but none of that is gonna help us figure out what the hell we do now. Are we gonna live in a stupor for the rest of our lives?" _Hige asked, voice rising, "_Somebody say something dammit! Kiba, you haven't said a single word to any of us since everything happened"_

_"Drop it" _Tsume warned.

"_Just leave it alone, remember Kiba _and Bri _were hurt the worst" _Toboe said.

"_It's not that, it's just I'm really pissed off" _Kiba said, eyes narrowing.

"We all are, I think it's natural to be pissed off" Bri replied, staring at the ceiling.

"_Get her! She's getting away" _They lifted their heads to look at the doorway as they heard shouts from outside and the sounds of somebody running.

A black dog bounded into the warehouse, startling everybody. It was that wolf hunter's dog that apparently had some wolf in her.

A young woman replaced the wolf-dog. She had tanned skin, short dark blue hair and electric blue eyes. She wore a red scarf around her neck, a long coat that covered most of her skirt and thigh high boots.

"_Wow, what a babe" _Hige murmured, staring at the girl. Damn, she was smoking hot. Bri smacked him on the back of his head. "Pig" She muttered at him as he rubbed his head, shooing her dirty looks.

"_She's got friends" _A man walked in, flanked by two other males. Humans.

The girl whirled around but Hige stepped in front of her. "_Yeah so what's it to you?" _He asked.

"_Hand over the girl" _

_"Why should we?" _Hige asked the human.

"_She's our merchandise" _He replied, causing Bri to give disgusted sound.

"Merchandise? You're pathetic" Bri hissed at them.

"Looks like we found another prize, boys" The first male said, smirking at Bri.

Tsume stood next to Bri, growling lowly in his throat.

The first man motioned his head towards his flunkies. "_You kids aren't from around here, aren't ya?" _

_"So what if we aren't?" _Hige asked, eyeing the men suspiciously.

"_There's a big demand for young bodies in this town" _One of the flunkies said, smiling.

"_A lot of people pay top dollar for healthy organs" _The other one whispered, closing in on them.

The first flunkie ran, brandishing his weapon at Bri and Tsume. They dodged and the man whirled at Tsume, who was rolling his neck.

"_You don't expect us to give up our bodies do ya?" _Tsume asked, dodging the man's blows.

The other men lurched forward, the main man trying to get Blue but getting hit in the side by Hige and the second flunkie got knocked to the ground by Kiba, who placed his foot on the man's shoulder.

The man widened his eyes at the sight of a wolf staring down at him, instead of Kiba. He looked around and saw his comrades being pinned down by Hige and Tsume in a similar way.

"_Am I going crazy? It's a curse, it's the curse of the House of Darcia" _He mumbled, sweating bullets.

Kiba snarled and snapped his jaws close to the man's face, causing him to close his eyes tightly. When nothing happened, he tentatively opened his eyes and saw Kiba's sharp canines' inches from his face. Kiba got off the man and ran, the man's screams echoing after them.

They made it to a junkyard and burst out laughing. "_Did you see that stupid look on their faces?" _Tsume laughed.

"_I know, that felt terrific" _Toboe said gleefully. "_Hey Kiba are you alright?" _

"_Yeah" _Kiba said, smiling at the runt.

"_Hey are __**you**__ alright?" _Hige asked the girl.

"_Yeah. Thanks for helping me" _She replied.

"_We didn't do it for you, you know. Those idiots just happened to catch us in a bad mood that's all" _Tsume interrupted.

"_She was just thanking us, why do you have to be so harsh? It's not like we run into girls every day" _Hige said defensively and purposely ignored Bri's glare. "_By the way, I'm Hige" _He told the girl.

"_My name is…its Blue. It's been a while huh?" _she asked, facing Kiba and Tsume.

"_Huh? You guys know each other?" _Hige asked. A slight feeling of jealousy came over him but he stuffed it down, knowing those two had their own crushes.

"_You could say that" _Kiba replied.

"_You did some pretty nasty things to us when you with that human" _Tsume growls.

"_That old guy, where is he?" _Toboe asked Blue.

"_Something happened and we were split up" _She sighed softly.

"_He was still tracking us in the last city we were in" _Kiba told her.

"_I know. That's why he was there. Pop's will track down a wolf to the ends of the Earth" _She whispered.

"_I don't get it, aren't you a wolf too?" _Toboe asked her.

"_Hey isn't that girl with you anymore? You know the one that you were travelling with? She had a really strange scent"_

_"A girl? You mean Cheza?" _Toboe asked.

"_Cheza" _Blue says and suddenly the atmosphere turns tense.

"_Oh that, we'll let's just say we shouldn't talk about that now" _Hige mutters nervously, "_I know, why don't we go look for some food? I mean we did just bump into each other and there's a whole lot of danger for a girl on her own" _

_"Smooth" _Bri sniggers when Tsume glares at Hige.

"_Not a chance, Porky" _

_"Why not?"_

_"As if I would hang with her, she was doing everything to hunt us down" _

_"Yeah but…"_

_"You know you're only saying that because it didn't happen to you right?" _Toboe interrupts

Blue laughs from behind them, "_Forget it, I don't wanna hang around with a bunch of kids anyway. See ya around" _And with that she walks off.

"_Hey! Grr aren't you guys being a little cold? Hey wait, it's dangerous" _Hige yells and runs after her.

"_But Hige" _Toboe exclaimed, his voice drifting towards Hige's retreating form.

* * *

Hige managed to catch up with Blue and she told him the whole tale of why she had been with the old man and the horror she had seen. Hige felt bad that he had sort of forced it out of her but at least he could comfort her a bit.

They talked for ages and he managed to convince her to join the pack and when they made it back to the junkyard, they noticed that only humans were there and Hige managed to pick up the scent of the others.

By the time they made it to the others, they were standing in front of a battered caravan with two old people standing in front of it. The man was holding a gun in the direction of Tsume, Kiba, Bri and Toboe.

"_Oh crap!" _Hige's voice came from behind them. They stopped but Blue morphed and ran to the old man who fired at her. She came to sit in front of him, pinning him down with her blue eyes.

"_We are not going to do anything to you so just leave us alone" _Kiba said to the old man, authority leaking in his voice, "_I don't wanna fight if there's no reason to, I don't wanna kill"_

_"Did you see the wolves?! Search over there!" _A voice shouted from the distance.

"Shit, trouble's coming" Bri murmured.

"_Those people wanna capture us and sell us to the highest bidder, it's up to you whether we can avoid bloodshed" _Tsume told the old man, who looked conflicted.

The old man eventually gave in and they got Toboe and Hige to lie on the ground while the old man shot near them, making it seem like they had been killed. The others hid inside the trailer.

"_Did you kill them?"_ Asked the first man when they came running.

"_Stop it! That's enough" _Elmira yelled at her husband when he pointed the gun at the men.

"_They cast a spell on me" _He told her angrily.

The two kept arguing causing the first man to spit. "_Dammit, those things are worthless if they're dead" _And with that they walked away and the others came out.

Elmira gave them meat which they ate gratefully and Blue was sitting next to the man who patted her.

"_I hope you can forgive my husband, thinking that you're wolves" _Elmira told the group, "_He's starting to get more and more confused lately, that's why he came out here on this little jot. Let's spend our days on the road he said and here we are. This trailer is our home as well as our coffin"_

The group turned to look at Elmira who continued with her story, "_But we've seen such horrible things, that castle of the Darcia's to the west from here must have been beautiful once but now it's nothing but a giant grave"_

_"The castle of the Darcia's" _Kiba breathed.

"_It's as if everything in this world has given up its desire to live" _Elmira said sadly.

"_No it hasn't" _Kiba replied sharply, causing her to look at him. "_The old man isn't confused at all, he's right. We are wolves"_

_"You ready to go?" _Hige asked Toboe who nodded.

Blue stood up, now in her human disguise. "_Goodbye mister, take care" _

"_Where are you going to go?" _The old man asked.

"_To the castle in the west" _Kiba replied and they ran off.

The next day came and the group was back in the city, looking at the direction where Cheza left with the Darcia person.

"_They went that way right?"_ Toboe asked.

"_They sure did" _Hige replied.

"_Are we going?"_

_"Well we have to" _Hige said.

Tsume looked at them from where he stood with Bri. He looked at Kiba, who stared at the distance. Bri looked at him and smiled softly, Tsume was starting to care for this pack wether he liked it or not.

"_So where are you guys headed?" _Blue asked Hige.

"_We're all headed to Paradise" _Hige replied.

"_Paradise?"_

_"It's something every wolf has to try and do"_

_"Oh right, to find Paradise" _Blue whispered.

"_You're gonna come with us right? Aren't you Blue?"_

_"It sounds tempting but I can't"_

_"Well then I'm not going either" _Hige replied.

"_Hige" _Blue whispered.

"_You know, you'd probably be better off if you stayed with the humans. Its not too late to go back" _Kiba said.

"_What the hell are you saying Kiba?" _Hige exclaimed.

"_I have no intention of going back. I can never return to the way I was before. Not now" _

"_Blue" _Hige mumbled.

"_I just, I need to find out what I really am"_

_"Well then the only thing you can do is move forward" _Kiba told her.

"_Yeah he's right, you just gotta move forward. Right? Right?" _Hige jumped up, looking at the others.

"_Oh yeah, we can see right through you Porky" _Tsume said, causing Bri to giggle.

"_Now only if Cheza were with us" _Toboe murmured and winced when Hige punched his head.

"_I told you not to say that" _He hissed at Toboe, "_Okay now that everything's settled, its time to move on. To Paradise!" _He yelled pointing forward.

"_We're going this way" _Kiba said, pointing in a different direction.

"_Huh? Paradise isn't that way" _Toboe said.

"_But Darcia's keep is" _

"_Do you think Cheza's there?" _Toboe asked Kiba.

He turned around and nodded.

"_Kiba. Cheza left us of her own free will you know?" _Tsume said from behind them.

"_She only did that to protect us" _Kiba said, "_She's waiting for us, I know she is"_

_"That noble will be there too" _Tsume warned, "_We all might get killed this time"_

_"If we're meant to die, then so be it" _Kiba replied.

"_When that happens, you'll be on your own"_

_"So we're going? To find Cheza right?" _Toboe asked excitedly.

"_Right. Let's go" _Hige exclaimed.

Bri got up and stood in front of Blue, holding her hand out. Blue took it hesitantly and Bri pulled her up. "Welcome to the pack Blue. I'm Bri"

Blue smiled and Bri smiled back before joining Tsume and poking fun at him for caring about the pack.

Hige held his hand out to Blue. "_C'mon" _

Blue nodded and they ran, leaving the city and heading towards Darcia's Keep.

They had been travelling for days and they were currently walking through howling winds that pelted them with snow. Kiba walked far ahead, not slowing down and the others struggled to keep up, especially the girls and Toboe.

Hige noticed this and yelled at Kiba, "_Hey Kiba! Slow down" _Kiba didn't seem to hear him so he ran forward and spun Kiba around.

"_C'mon, you're going too fast. Let's take a break" _Hige panted.

"_We don't have time for that" _Kiba replied and turned back, starting to move forward again.

"_Would you use your head for once?! We've got two girls and a kid with us!" _

_"We can hear you, you know? We're fine thanks" _Bri and Blue snapped from behind in unison.

"_Yeah me too" _Toboe said.

"_You realise he's the one that wants to rest don't you?" _Tsume asked, nonchalantly.

"_I do not…I just" _Hige began before Tsume cut him off.

"_But you do have to admit that he's got a point. At this point, none of us will make it. We can take shelter in those rocks until the storm clears"_

_"That settles it, can you guys hang in a little longer?" _Hige asked the girls and Toboe.

"_Just worry about yourself" _Blue told him, walking past him with the others.

"_Yes ma'am" _Hige sulked.

The rocks turned out to be a building of some sort, probably a communications area or a storehouse. They went inside, grateful to be out of the storm.

"_You do know it won't be ending anytime soon? You should rest a bit" _Tsume told Kiba who was looking out at the storm.

"_What do you say Kiba? I mean the storm will blow itself out by morning" _Hige said, from where he was sitting.

"_It already has. C'mon it'll be fine" _Kiba said, turning to look at them.

"Are you blind? It's like a friggin' tornado of snow out there!" Bri exclaimed.

"_Well none of us will be fine" _Tsume snarled at him.

"_Do what you want, I'm leaving" _Kiba told them.

"_Look don't worry about us, we're fine" _Blue said, standing up with Toboe.

"_No, it's not" _Hige said and Kiba walked off.

"_Kiba!" _Toboe shouted after him.

"_Leave him, his mind's only on Cheza" _Hige said angrily.

"_We'll follow him once the storm blows over" _Tsume replied, "_For now just get some rest and don't think about it"_

_"Hige? Are you sure about this?" _Blue asked.

"_He obsesses too much. What can you do?" _

By the time the storm blew out, everybody had fallen asleep.

* * *

They soon woke up and were greeted by the sight of white outside, which was the epitome of calm. They managed to pick up Kiba's faint scent lingering in the air and followed it.

They followed it to a huge dark building with a massive metal gate that stood over them ominously. "_So this is the Keep of Darcia" _Tsume said

"_The place looks like it should be haunted" _Hige replied, causing Toboe to jump.

"_By what?"_

_"By the ghosts of all the cursed nobles" _Hige told him, laughing.

"_C'mon don't say stuff like that!" _Toboe whined.

"_But still are you sure that girl is inside of there?" _Blue asked uncertainly.

Hige sniffed the air, "_The scent's faint but it's definitely a Lunar Flower all right"_

They walked through the gate and across the bridge towards the castle.

"_Looks like he has visitors" _Tsume said, looking pointedly at the red car that stood in front of the doorway.

Blue gasped and ran towards the car, looking inside.

"_Pops is here" _She whispered.

Blue ran towards the door and the others followed her.

They walked through the castle, Blue hurrying in front.

"_Why the hell are you in such a rush?" _Hige asked her.

"_It's Pops, I know he's here"_

_"But do you really wanna see him? That Pops guy?" _Toboe asked her.

That caused Blue to stop and whisper, "_No, maybe it's better if I don't"_

_"But maybe he's here because he wants to find you" _Toboe replied.

"_So? What if is? Are you gonna go back and be that human's dog?" _Tsume asked unkindly from behind.

"_Hey lay off!" _Hige exclaimed at him.

"_Yeah you don't know what it's like" _Toboe yelled at him.

"_Guess I don't. Unlike you two, I've never had the pleasure of being kept as a pet" _

"Tsume stop it. Please" Bri pleaded with him, tugging at his arm. He looked at her and she looked surprised at the anger in his eyes. She backed off and turned her head away.

"_Let's go find Kiba and Cheza" _Hige said and they walked in silence.

They were walking along the halls, following Hige and his nose when they suddenly heard a gunshot. Blue gasped and started running, the others following her. They ran into a room where the wolf hunter was pointing a gun at Kiba. Lord Darcia was in the room along with the scientist and a tall blonde haired man.

"_No don't!" _Blue yelled, standing in front of Kiba in her animal form.

That caused the old man's eyes to widen and lower the gun down. "_Blue?"_ He whispered, shocked.

"_Kiba!" _Toboe yelled.

Bri snapped her head up when she heard something rumbling from outside. She narrowed her eyes and nearly jumped out of her skin when a girl holding a crystal ball yelled, "_My Lord Darcia!"_

Her scream was nearly engulfed by the sound of a laser burning through the roof, causing an explosion and propelling the girl away.

"_Cheza!" _Kiba yelled and began running to her but he got blown away by a laser.

"_Kiba!" _The others yelled and sighed in relief when he landed in front of them.

Cheza was picked up by the blonde haired man and they made a run for it, the wolf hunter joining them almost reluctantly while he stared at Blue with sad eyes.

The other wolves made a run for it, just as the windows shattered into millions of tiny shards.

While they were running, Kiba stopped and started running in a different direction.

"_What are you doing? KIBA!" _Tsume yelled as explosion after explosion came close to them. They followed him and saw that he was running towards a ship that was taking off. They could smell that Cheza was in there, along with Blue.

Kiba desperately tried to reach the ship but it flew away and Kiba yelled in anguish. He ran off somewhere and now the pack was looking for him among the ruins of Darcia's Keep.

"_Kiba!" _Toboe yelled, "_Kibaaaaa!" _

His yells were turning into howls, long howls that echoed around them. It started snowing and everybody felt lost. They had lost Cheza for a second time, they lost Blue and now they had lost Kiba.

* * *

Wow! Mega, mega long chapter here! Well, I hope everybody enjoys this and take your time reading it because I might take a while on the next chapter, depending on how much I procrastinate.

Remember to review, favourite and add this story to your alerts! I live for your reviews!

If there are any mistakes, I'm really sorry but I've been trying to get this chapter out to you guys really quickly and it took me so long!

-Black :)


	9. Author's Note - PLEASE READ! IMPORTANT!

Hey,

So, its been a while since the last update and all I can say is that im really sorry guys. Real life managed to butt its head into my time and I stopped writing for a bit and then I had to start seeing all these specialists for my knees (I walk inwards which causes my knees to hurt like hell when i walk) and now I've started seeing a physio and I'm just really sorry to everybody that was waiting for update. All I can give you is my sincerest apologies.

I'm gonna start writing the upcoming chapters so bear with me for a bit longer so I can catch up and hopefully I can finish this story before June, if not then at least by the end of this year. So for now its gonna be on a temp hiatus.

Again, really mega sorry for all of you guys that were waiting so patiently for the updates.

-Black :)


	10. Author's Note and a peace-offering gift

**Hey guys,**

**Again, im sorry for not uploading for a while. Life has gotten in the way, writer's block as well and a severe case of procrastination on my part. I can't apologize enough. But first, I have some good/bad news (it depends how you see it) which is that I've decided to stop writing Hubb's point of view since it's taking longer for me as I have to rewatch earlier episodes and write while watching it and honestly, I can't be stuffed anymore (I know, I'm a lazy and unreliable writer). So I have started back on the main story and that should be out soon, as exams, assignments and other school-related things grind to a halt. But for the people that wish to read Hubb's POV, I have it here, albeit unfinished and stops suddenly but hey, we can count it as a semi-update right? **

**Again, I'm really sorry for my constant unreliability and broken promises. I hate myself for it and you guys have every right to hate me as well.**

**-A very guilty feeling Black**

* * *

'_My name is Hubb Lebowski. I'm a detective on the Freeze City police force…or at least, I used to be. My life was pretty straight forward but after meeting this man, all of that changed.'_

Hubb stared at the ID in his hand. "Quent Yaiden" He says, tossing the ID on the table and looking at the man sitting in front of him. Large trench coat, grey, patchy hair, a bunch of bullets for his firearm and reeking of alcohol.

"So tell me, what brings the sheriff of Kyrios to our humble city. That's some heavy artillery you got there but I doubt you came all this way for the hunting" Hubb drawled, still staring at Quent. The man simply stared back at him before asking, "What did you do with it? Where's the animal I put down?"

"Dead apparently" Hubb replied.

Quent looked up at him, shocked. "Huh?"

"The carcass will be disposed of here" Hubb interjected.

"That's impossible!"Quent shouted, slamming a fist down on the table, hard. "There's not a chance in hell that thing is dead. I have to see it with my own eyes! Don't you get it, it's a wolf!"

Hubb couldn't keep the incredulous chuckle out of his voice. "You think it's a wolf?"

"It may look like a dog but its not. It's a WOLF" Quent replied, his voice rising on the last word, "You don't honestly believe we wiped those things out from the face of the planet do you Detective?"

"The last appearance of a wolf was over 200 years ago. Just how do you propose they survived all this time?" Hubb was honestly starting to get annoyed at this drunken old man, "The mountains and forests have been stripped bare, there's nowhere on Earth they could hide"

"THEY'RE ALL AROUND US!" Quent shouted, standing up suddenly, "THEY'VE JUST PUT US ALL UNDER SOME KIND OF SPELL!"

Hubb stared at the man, raising his eyebrow slightly.

"These wolves exist and we have to destroy them all!" Quent shouted and Hubb had had enough. He nodded at his partner and walked out of the room, leaving the insane old man.

He walked through the building, before knocking on the door of one of the many labs and found Cher. Cher Degré was his (ex) wife and Hubb still loved her even though she had put Cheza before their marriage.

Cheza's difficult to explain. She's a girl made out of flowers which most people had trouble understanding. Hell, Hubb even didn't fully understand how it worked. But Cheza was alive as proof, even if she was in a suspended state of animation.

Hubb walked alongside Cher as they made their way to the animal Quent had shot and killed.

"I figured this sort of thing might be under your jurisdiction" Hubb explained.

"So it's alive?" Cher asked.

"Just barely. But it's only a matter of time"

"That sounds like the two of us" Cher said with a small wry smile.

"We're not over yet, we just have to keep trying" Hubb said earnestly.

"I'm not so sure" She replied before stepping into the room.

There, in a cage was a pure white dog and standing in front of it was a man wearing a yellow hoodie and jeans.

"Hey! What are you doing here? What department are you with?" Hubb shouted.

The man turned, revealing untidy brown hair and brown eyes. "Oh, sorry. I was looking for cleaning supplies, I guess I must've got lost" The man replied sheepishly, running a hand through his hair.

"The cleaning crew huh? Just go out that door, cleaning supplies are on the right" Hubb said, pointing to a door on his right.

"Oh are they? Thanks!" The man replied, raising a hand slightly before walking off.

Cher walked towards the cage and bent forward, staring at the animal.

"So, do you think it's really a wolf?" Hubb asked.

"I don't know, I've never seen a real one before" Cher replied, looking at the animal intently, "But if it is a wolf, it may be what's causing this sudden reaction in Cheza"

"Aw please, not Cheza again" Hubb muttered, turning his head to the side.

"What's that mean?" Cher asked, tone slightly defensive.

"It's because of her, you and I broke up"

"Stop acting like an idiot Hubb and bring this back to the lab" Cher snapped, putting her hands on her hips.

"I'll have someone do it later. Dogs and I don't get along all that well. I'm kinda allergic to them" Hubb replied, scratching his neck.

Cher sighed, "This is the reason you and I would never work"

"I don't know, maybe it is just a matter of time" Hubb said, scratching his neck faster.

Hubb walked out and busied himself with some paperwork until sirens were heard throughout the building.

"It's a raid!" Somebody shouted.

"They're shooting at the thieves!" Another yelled.

Voices could be heard screaming information to one another. Hubb dashed out of the building, yelling orders of his own and stood in front of the building next to Cher.

Neither said a word, simply staring at the scene in front of them.

Suddenly, Hubb could feel the side of his neck starting to itch and he started scratching it furiously. He looked around for the sight of a dog but couldn't see any. He looked eyes with a young man that had bright blue eyes and black hair. Hubb looked at him curiously.

"Sir, that big dog! It disappeared!" One of Hubb's subordinates cried and Hubb turned around.

"What?!" He asked loudly, before running towards the room with Cher at his heels.

"It's gone" Hubb said, "You think someone stole it?"

"Could be. Or maybe it escaped on its own" Cher replied.

Hubb stared at the cage which was smeared with blood. Two of the iron bars were bent, creating a gap large enough for an animal to crawl through.

Hubb just sighed and said his goodbyes to Cher and made his way home. When he arrived, he collapsed on his bed and fell asleep, his mind playing back the events of the day.

The next day, when he arrived for work, he called Cher. One of her assistants picked up the phone and he could hear the assistant telling Cher that he was calling, using three different titles for him.

"Yes, what is it?" Cher's voice asked, her tone sounding slightly annoyed.

"Come on Cher, does it really matter what title they call me by?"

"Just tell me what you want" Cher snapped.

Hubb sighed, "There's something I need you to see"

"So what did you catch this time, an elephant?" Cher snarked.

Hubb just told Cher to come to one of the small labs and hung up.

He stood by the metal platform when Cher walked in and lifted the cloth away, revealing a dead young boy.

"Sorry, humans aren't really my specialty" Cher muttered.

"He's one of the kids involved in the warehouse theft. He fell from the roof while trying to escape" Hubb replied tiredly.

Cher bent forward and narrowed her eyes slightly, "Are these tooth marks from a dog?" She stared at the boys arm.

"The wounds are still pretty fresh. What do you think?"

Cher stood up and placed one hand on her hip. "Are you trying to tell me that you think the dog that escaped did this?"

"I don't know. I should've taken a mould of its teeth when I had the chance" Hubb sighed.

They both looked at the marks in silence before Cher asked, "I wonder why it hasn't been found yet. With a dog that big running wild around the city, you would think somebody would've reported it"

Hubb looked thoughtful, "Maybe they are trying to deceive us" He thought of the old man from yesterday.

"Huh?" Cher asked.

"Nah, forget it. It's impossible"

"Oh Hubb. Am I down here just because you wanted to see me?" Cher asked, exasperated.

"Huh? Uh maybe just a little" Hubb replied, slightly bashful.

"You never change do you?" Cher asked.

She reached over to the box that contained the things that were found on the boy.

Hubb could see her holding some kind of dark hair and then turning her head towards the direction of the cage as if analysing something. Hubb decided to leave it and walked out of the room with Cher, talking with her about their (failed) marriage.

He was sitting in his office, looking over some paperwork when Cher called.

Skipping the pleasantries, she went straight to business. "I analysed the dog hairs from inside the cage and they don't match the ones found on the corpse. There's also a third set of hairs that aren't identified"

"A third set?" Hubb asked, confused.

"As far as we can tell. There were two types of hair around the cage"

"What the hell is going on? There isn't anywhere for them to hide"

"Are you okay? You're not acting like yourself. No offense, but I thought you didn't like dogs" Cher said, sounding almost concerned, "And to be honest, you're starting to sound a little obsessed"

Hubb gave a light chuckle. "I'm not obsessed Cher. Don't worry, I'm probably just looking for another excuse to see you" He replied cheekily.

He winced when he heard the banging sound of Cher hanging up. He shut his phone and sighed.

"It may be time to track down that guy" Hubb mumbled before searching through his paperwork to find the file on Quent. When he found the file, quick as a flash, he tore it opened and scanned the pieces of paper before finding what he needed. He memorized the address and grabbed his coat and hat, walking out of the building.

The apartment complex Quent lived in was a dingy, dirty old thing but Hubb simply walked through the complex and knocked on Quent's door.

The door opened a crack, revealing a dishevelled Quent. "Well, look who it is, Detective Danly"

"I need to ask you some questions" Hubb replied, voice urgent.

"And there's something you need to see" Quent said, opening the door and ushering a confused Hubb inside.

The room was bigger inside then it seemed and Hubb sat at the table and accepted the glass of whiskey Quent offered.

Quent's animal, a large dog that almost seemed to have blue fur stood at the window, staring out of it intently.

"Look at this" Quent said, placing his hand out in front of him. Hubb stared at the claw marks that almost enveloped the back of his hand. "Pretty, ain't it? A souvenir from an angry wolf"

"You can't prove it was a wolf" Hubb replied, staring at the wound.

"Well, there weren't any cats or ferrets around, there was only a young human. That little beast turned into a human before my very eyes. He was just a kid" Quent mumbled, stroking the wound.

Hubb narrowed his eyes and asked, "Can you remember at all what this boy's face looked like?"

"I'm trying to but for some reason my memory is a little fuzzy"

Hubb stared at the bottles of alcohol that littered the surface of the table, some had spilt amber liquid onto the surface. Along with the bottles, dozens of glasses also stood on the table, some had toppled over and joined the mess.

Hubb sighed, "Maybe I should come back another time" He rose out of his seat and grabbed his hat.

Quent let out a small chuckle. "It will always be the same. But I'm not drunk yet tonight"

"I don't know why I even thought I could come to you for advice" Hubb replied, walking towards the door.

"You're obsessed with the wolves huh?"

Hubb stoped and swivelled his head around, surprised.

"You're dying to know everything now, isn't that right Detective?" Quent chuckled.

"That dog you shot ran away" Hubb said in a steely voice.

"What a surprise"

"And you think it put some kind of a spell on us to escape?" Hubb asked, almost snapping at Quent.

"You got it" Quent replied, reaching for one of the bottles.

"That just isn't possible" Hubb remarked, a small laugh could be heard in his voice.

"These claw marks and the fact that you're here would be proof enough for anyone" Quent replied, staring at Hubb with piercing blue eyes.

"There are a lot more of them you know. People you pass on the street or the market, the poor slob sitting next to at the bar. Any one of them could be a wolf" Quent continued, drinking the rest of the liquid that remained in his glass. "I tell you now, the words of Red Moon. 'From the great spirit, the wolf was born and man became its messenger'. In other words, the human race was created from wolves, so says the author of the Book of the Moon"

The Book of the Moon?" Hubb whispered.

"I guess I might as well say it, instead of looking for wolves you oughta suspect the humans"

Hubb stared at Quent as he poured himself another glass before sighing and turning to the door. "I gotta go" He said and opened the door, walking away from Quent and his words that confused and somehow thrilled Hubb's curiosity.

When Hubb made it back to the office, one of his colleagues told him that there had been an attack in the main laboratory and Cher was in the infirmary. He hurried over to a nearby store to pick something out for Cher and made his way to her. When he walked in, she was staring at him with tired blue eyes.

"Hi Hubb"

"You're looking well. I was afraid it was something serious"

"I was just overworked" Cher replied, a small smile gracing her lips.

"A gift for the lady" Hubb declared, handing the wrapped parcel to Cher.

"Thank you. Can I open it?" She asked and Hubb gave an affirmative noise.

"I've forgotten how lovely you looked, lying in bed" Hubb said, staring at Cher.

Cher looked at him shocked before looking back at the present, a slight blush on her cheeks. "Oh please, I must look awful"

She opened the box to reveal a multi-coloured handkerchief. "Your sense of fashion is as terrible as ever"

Hubb sat down in the chair next to Cher's bed. "They told me you worked yourself into the ground but I didn't believe it"

"No kidding, there goes my iron woman reputation"

"The red snow falls" Hubb muttered.

Cher stopped midway of putting the box on the bedside table. "The red…snow falls" She repeated softly.

"Cher, this isn't the best time to ask but do you know of the Book of the Moon?"

"Uh yes, I think it's a pagan book isn't it?" Cher asked, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, that man who brought in the dog, he told me something pretty weird. Some old story about how humans were created from wolves"

Cher gave out a slight gasp before whispering, "A…red moon"

"Huh? What?" Hubb asked.

"It doesn't matter. That book is probably banned by now. And besides, it's just an old fairy tale"

"Yeah you're right" Hubb replied, "It's all nonsense"

"I should rest a while" Cher whispered, staring at the other side of the room.

"Sure. You must be tired" Hubb stood up and grabbed his hat, walking towards the door, "You'll feel better in no time and when you get outta here, we'll go out and celebrate. Our anniversary's coming up"

Cher closed her eyes. "But we were married in the summer and besides we-"

Hubb tisked, waving a finger towards her, " I meant the one for our divorce" He walked out of the room.

When Hubb walked into his office, a officer walked up to him and informed him of a case of birds dying near the city centre. Hubb heaved a sigh and followed the officer.

When they arrived, Hubb covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief as he stared at the sight of feathers raining down and small bird corpses on the ground.

"Jeez, first dogs, now birds. My allergies are killing me" Hubb grumbled.

"The aviation bureau says there wasn't any unauthorised aircraft in the vicinity" The officer said, scribbling something down on his notepad.

" Well the nobles are the only ones allowed to fly anymore" Hubb remarked, staring at the feathers fluttering down.

"You know you really shouldn't talk like that" The officer replied in a hush tone, eyes darting around as if trying to find a noble standing behind them.

Hubb merely sighed and nodded at the officer and slowly made his way back to the office, thinking about Quent and Cher and the Book of the Moon.

When he made it back, he sat at his desk and turned on his computer. He opened the record search and typed in 'Book of the Moon'. There was a small ding and a pop-up came up on his computer.

"No records found" He mumbled and sighed.

"Hey Hubb, your dinner's here" A friend of Hubb said and placed the container on Hubb's desk.

"Thanks, I'm starving" Hubb said with a smile before the sound of running made him look out the door.

"Isn't it kinda late to be going out on a raid?" Hubb asked and accepted the wooden steamer basket.

"Ahh its that gang of thieves again. They finally found the last of their hideouts. They were tracking the leader this afternoon, a young guy but then out of nowhere this huge black dog shows up"

Hubb paused, his spoon halfway towards his mouth. He placed it back down. "A dog?" He asked, voice intent.

"Yeah, the weird thing is the lost of the guy and another dog appeared" The man continued before staring down at Hubb. "What's wrong?"

Hubb was slightly shaking and he could feel his eyes widening as his mind started playing back his friend's comments.

All of a sudden, a bang was heard and they both looked at the doorway.

"You" Hubb breathed.

Standing in the doorway, slightly panting, was Quent. Hubb stood up and rushed over to Quent, who in turn swivelled around and started running towards the exit.

"Where are we going?" Hubb asked.

"We're going to go catch them of course" Quent snapped and let Hubb take the lead.

Hubb ran towards his car and started it up, following Quent's sharp directions.

"What made you decide to join me?" Quent asked.

"Wolves don't exist. I'm only here to prove that" Hubb replied, staring at the empty road in front of him.

He could hear Quent let out an annoyed sound but didn't remark on it. Silence filled the car once again, only to be broken by Quent saying 'left' or 'right'.

They soon stopped on a cliff-like platform and they hurried out of the car, police sirens crying harshly into the night. Two figures stood on the main gate, one which distinctly looked feminine, before the feminine jumped off the gate.

Quent gasped and ran towards the edge, pulling out his shotgun and firing at the now lone figure that stood on the main gate.

"Hey wait!" Hubb cried.

Quent fired another shot and Hubb leapt for the shotgun and struggled to get it out of Quent's hands. "Stop it! You don't have the right to shoot" Hubb explained.

"You idiot!" Quent snarled at Hubb.

"He's a human Quent! He looks human to me!" Hubb snarled back.

They struggled for a bit longer until Hubb managed to punch Quent in the face and as Quent fell to the ground, he loosed his grip on the shotgun.

Hubb stood, staring down at Quent and panting slightly. The two of them slowly made their way down to where the other officers were, on the outside of Freeze City's gate and Hubb stared at the strange sight in front of him.

Instead of human footprints in the snow, there were paw prints that overlapped each other.

"I'm not tracking them for pleasure or curiosity you know" Quent drawled, "It's for revenge. Now do you believe?" He asked when Hubb turned around to look at him.

"Believe what?" Hubb muttered.

Quent let out a laugh. "You've been deceived this entire time by a pack of wolves" He took a swig from his flask.

"You're wrong" Hubb mumbled, staring at the paw prints that trailed all the way to the horizon, "It's not possible"

Hubb made his way back home, dragging his feet as he mulled over what had just happened. There was no way that that group of _human _boys (and a girl if that one that had the slim body and long, curly locks that trailed after her as she ran) were wolves, yet somewhere in the back of Hubb's mind, he knew that it was plausible. Considering what he had seen had made it plausible and real but Hubb just didn't know what to believe. So when he unlocked his apartment door, he just went straight to his bedroom and collapsed on the bed, not even bothering to change out of his work clothes. In minutes he was asleep.

When he got up the next morning, he changed out of his dishevelled clothes and made his way to work, stopping by Cher's office to ask her out for dinner. She agreed after a while and Hubb made his way to his own office, where he had to subdue the torture of filling out paperwork and writing reports.

His mind was half-focused on his tasks though as he mulled over the previous night's events. He still wasn't quite sure what to think but he was starting to think that if he believed Quent, then maybe he was actually going insane.

By the time Hubb had done all his work and before he had managed to confuse himself even more, the sun had already started setting, meaning that Hubb had finished his shift and he had to go home to get ready for his meal (date) with Cher.

He drove home, changed out of his work clothes and put on a fairly new suit and decided not to bother with anything else. He checked his watch as he walked back to his car and drove to Cher's, the streets all but empty, with the exception of a bum or a stray cat.

He picked up Cher and they made small talk as they drove to a restaurant they had once visited long ago. They were ushered to a table by a waiter and silence fell over them, only broken when the waiter had brought them two glasses of wine. Hubb started telling Cher what had happened with Quent the other night.

"He come this close to shooting the guy right in front of me" Hubb said.

"Keep your voice down" Cher whispered to him, eyeing the couples around them.

"That man is unbelievable" Hubb whined, in a slightly lower voice, "He's convinced that those boys are wolves and there's nothing on this Earth that's gonna change his mind.

"Listen Hubb" Cher whispered, "There's something I need you to do for me"

She placed her hand on Hubb's and placed a key in the palm of his hand.

Hubb stared down at it. Then he clenched it in his hand when he heard Cher start speaking again.

"If it's not too much trouble, do you think you could water the plants in my apartment for me while I'm gone?"

"Gone? What do you mean?" Hubb asked confusedly.

"I'm…taking a little vacation" Cher whispered, "I'll be gone for a while"

"A vacation? What a minute, what's going on? I thought you said you were feeling better" Hubb asked, voice rising a little.

Cher smiled, "That's why I'm taking a vacation"

"I don't understand, what abou-" Hubb exclaimed, before looking around and lowering his voice, "That thing you sacrificed your whole life for? Including us"

"It doesn't really matter whether I'm here or not, nothing's ever gonna change. Certainly not the lab, not even the world"

"What are you saying?" Hubb murmured.

"All this work I've been doing, I mean seriously what's the point? I feel like everything around me is an illusion. I just…don't know what's real anymore Hubb" She gave a small life and looked at Hubb, "So much for light conversation huh?"

There was a slight pause before Hubb spoke up, "You know wolves may actually exist"

Cher looked at him surprised, "Hubb"

"Listen to me" Hubb snapped, "That dog we saw was n-"

"Stop it Hubb" Cher snapped, turning her head to the side.

"Just hear me out, I think there may be more of them Cher"

"Okay! Give it a rest, I don't want to think about it right now!" Cher snarled and stood up, "I'm going"

"You're…going now? Bu-" Hubb asked.

"Thanks for dinner" Cher said before kissing Hubb on the lips and walking away.

Hubb sat in his seat, momentarily dazed before remembering what has happening and stood up. "Wait Cher" In his haste he had knocked the chair over and he fumbled to get it to stand upright, "Wait a minute" He called out to Cher's retreating form.

By the time Hubb had paid for the bill and gathered all his things, Cher had already gotten into the back of some strange car and had driven off, leaving Hubb standing like an idiot in the middle of the road.

He stared at the car's retreating form, even when it had long disappeared, mulling over what Cher had said. He knew that Cher was lying and he stared at the key that Cher had given to him. With his mind set, he ran to his car and drove to Cher's apartment.

When he arrived, he stood outside her door and sighed before putting the key in the lock and turning. He grasped the doorknob and entered Cher's apartment. He walked into her living room.

Furniture was covered in white sheets and some of the few ornaments she had had around the place where gone, probably shut away in some place.

"What plants? She doesn't have any" Hubb muttered under his breath, looking around the room.

He turned his head and noticed something sticking out of the wooden desk's drawer. "Huh?"

He walked over to it and noticed it to be a corner of the handkerchief that he had given Cher as a gift. He slowly opened the drawer and gasped when he noticed that the handkerchief was wrapped around something.

He frowned and slowly unwrapped the handkerchief and discovered that it was wrapped around a book. But not just any book. It was the Book of the Moon.

He gently lifted it out of the drawer and sat at the nearby desk, his mind failing to come up with any reason of why Cher had had this book which sat innocently on the desk. He flipped to the first page and scanned through it, becoming more and more absorbed with each word. He read slowly, letting the words sink into his mind. He simply sat and read, his mind wholly focused on the book that he didn't eat or drink and time had already passed. Whenever he raised a hand to his face, he could feel the prickly stubble starting to grow on his cheeks.

When he finally finished reading the book, his mind was filled with hundreds of questions. But he didn't focus on the questions and instead found himself walking out the door and driving towards Quent's apartment. When he made it there, he knocked several times before a middle-aged woman opened the door and peered at him. Confused and shocked, Hubb took several steps back before sprinting out.

He wandered around until he found a nearby pub and lying next to the door was Quent's dog. He paused next to the dog, who simply lifted its head slightly before dropping it back down to its paws. He walked through the door and was greeted by the sight of an nearly empty bar, the only occupants being the owner who stood behind the bar and Quent.

"I see you pushed yourself up a bit" Quent remarked as Hubb walked over to him.

"We need to talk" Hubb's voice was low and urgent.

"That's over and done" Quent replied, placing his money for his drinks on the counter.

Hubb reached into his coat, "Have you ever seen this?" And he pulled out the Book of The Moon slightly.

Quent stared at the book, shocked.

"Is what's written inside this book just made up or black magic or a dream?" Hubb asked.

"Or reality" Quent said, still staring at the book.

They remained unmoved until Quent picked up his bag and walked towards the door, "I won't tell you whatever you want" And with that he walked out.

Hubb rushed outside, "Just a minute, that woman who left this book for me, she suddenly disappeared; something horrible is happening isn't it?"


End file.
